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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAfNTING 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

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https://archive.org/details/handbookofyounga00osbo_0 


HANDBOOK 


OF  YOUNG  ARTISTS  AND  AMATEURS 

IN  OILPAINTING 


BEING 

CHIEFLY 


A CONDENSED  COMPILATION  FROM  THE  CELEBRATED  MANUAL  OF 
BOUVIER,  WITH  ADDITIONAL  MATTER  SELECTED  FROM  THE 
LABORS  OF  MERIMEE,  DE  MONTABERT  AND  OTHER 
DISTINGUISHED  CONTINENTAL  WRITERS 
IN  THE  ART 


In  Qcven  |)arta 


I.  Materials  and  Implements  of  the  Art 
17  Certain  matters  holding  a middle 
place  between  the  materials  and 
practice 

III.  The  First- Palette,  or  Deadcoloring 


IV.  The  Second  or  Finishing  Palette 

V.  The  Painting  of  Draperies 

VI.  Landsco-pepainting 

VII.  The  Varnishing,  Cleaning,  Re- 
pairing, and  Dining  of  Pictures 


TUK  WHOLE  ADAPTED  BY  THE  METHOD  OF  ITS  ARRANGEMENTS  AND  THE  COIF 
PLETBNESS  OF  ITS  DETAIL  AS  WELL  FOR  A TEXTBOOK  IN  ACADEMIES 
OF  BOTH  SEXES  AS  FOR  SELFINSTRUCTION 


APPENDLD 

A NEW  EXPLANATOM  AND  CRITICAL  V0CA8DLAR7 


BY  AN  AMERICAN  ARTIST 


NEW  YORK: 

JOHN  WILEY  & SON,  PUBLISHERS, 

2 Clinton  Hall,  Astor  Plaob. 

1869. 


VS-Af 


I know  not  that  any  author  has  proceeded  on  the  plan  that  1 
have  adopted ; I am  acquainted  with  no  work,  comprising  Steffi' 
dent  details  and  developments  to  enable  a young  student  to 
essay  by  himself,  without  other  guide  than  written  lessons,  his 
talent  in  the  art  of  painting. — Boxjvier. 

Among  the  different  processes  which  I indicate,  there  will  be 
found  perhaps  some  that  the  best  artists  would  not  disdain  to 
adopt.  In  all  the  arts,  if  persons,  who  have  given  themselves  to 
research,  had  communicated  to  their  fellows  the  particular  modes 
of  operation  which  had  succeeded  with  them,  the  arts  would  have 
been  the  gainers:  these  auxiliary  means  do  not  confer  talent,  but 
*hey  faeV'tate  the  labor  of  the  artist.— Ssme. 


PREFACE 


In  adopting  for  the  present  volume,  though  with  a 
slight  qualification,  the  title  of  the  book  on  whose 
copious  material  it  is  so  broadly  based,  I have  been 
governed  by  the  same  motives  that  would  seem  to 
have  influenced  the  choice  of  its  venerable  author, 
the  fear  namely,  that  a more  ambitious  designation, 
less  limited  in  scope,  would  be  misinterpreted  into  a 
pretension  to  a higher  office  than  that  of  detailing 
practical  instruction  to  the  young  and  inexperienced. 
Within,  however,  this  narrow  area,  I cannot  hesitate 
to  claim  for  my  compilation,  after  much  comparison 
with  other  practical  works  in  various  tongues,  from 
the  remotest  authors  down  to  those  of  the  immediate 
day,  the  value  of  being  the  most  complete  instruction- 
book  in  oilpainting  ever  published.  All  other  trea- 
tises seem  to  take  it  for  granted  that  the  reader  is 
more  or  less  exercised  in  the  art;  the  Manua^  of 
Bouvier  supposes  nothing  of  the  kind : from  the  mix 
ing  of  his  tints  down  to  the  spreading  of  his  varnish, 
and  even  the  removing  of  the  latter  when  it  needs 
renewing,  every  subject  that  it  handles  is  treated 


Vlll 


PREFACE. 


with  the  most  minute  detail.  Nor  in  the  hints  I have 
adopted  from  other  authors,  and  in  the  matter  I have 
here  and  there  added  of  my  own,  do  I think  that  I 
have  ever  forgotten  this  principle  of  procedure. 

But  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  with  this  initiation 
of  the  young,  the  as  yet  “ profanum  vulgus,”  into  the 
mysteries  of  our  art,  the  Handbook  finishes  its  func- 
tions. The  forty-three  years^  study  and  experience, 
the  great  good-sense,  sound  perceptions,  and  perfect 
sincerity  of  the  artist-author  whom  I have  chosen  as 
my  principal  guide,  and  the  undiminished  popularity 
of  his  Manual,  not  only  with  learners  but  with  artists 
of  established  name,  (indeed  we  may  say  with  all  in 
any  way  connected  with  the  art,  including  the  manu- 
facturers of  its  materials),  on  the  continent  of  Europe, 
— added  to  this,  the  care  bestowed  by  the  compiler 
in  the  diligent  collation  of  other  authorities, — warrant 
the  assumption,  that  even  for  the  professed  artist 
there  will  be  found  something  useful  in  the  following 
pages  ; and  a translated  passage,  which  on  the  fifth 
page  takes  the  place  of  a motto,  shows  that  Bouvier 
himself  anticipated  such  an  extension  of  the  field  of 
his  usefulness. 

Nor  to  these  two  classes  alone  do  I think  the  work 
confined.  Besides  the  “ amateurs  ” that  are  intended 
in  the  title  (amateur-painters  doubtless),  there  is  an- 
other kind  that  never  assume  the  pencil,  many  of 


PREFACE. 


which  claim  and  are  allowed  the  designation  even  of 
connoisseurs,  without  that  knowledge  of  the  art 
which  I do  insist  upon  it  is  essential,  not  only  to  form 
a judge  of  its  beauties,  but  to  make  one  really  their 
ardent  and  consistent,  certainly  their  enlightened 
lover.  It  cannot,  I think,  be  doubted,  that  a true  re- 
lish of  any  of  the  arts  can  only  be  possessed  after 
some  acquaintance  with  the  modes  by  which  their 
results  are  attained.  It  needs  not,  it  is  true,  that  one 
should  write  verses,  carve  statues  and  compose  mu- 
sic, to  be  a judicious  lover  of  all  those  arts  to  which 
such  performances  belong,  though  to  be  a thorough 
judge  of  them  I think  it  does  ; but  it  is  very  sure, 
that  to  love  them  with  a true  perception  of  their 
beauties  one  must  know  in  each  by  what  principles 
it  is  governed  in  its  operations,  or,  in  the  phrase  of 
M.  de  Quincy,  what  are  the  Nature,  End,  and  Means 
of  the  Imitation*  it  proposes  as  its  object.  When 
this  knowledge  is  possessed,  the  pleasure  that  they 
give,  in  their  more  successful  achievements,  amounts 
to  rapture  ; and  the  possessor  is  fairly  entitled  to  speak 
of  them  as  one  who  in  a measure  knows.  Without 
it,  the  love  is  capricious,  weak,  uncertain,  a transient 
emotion,  like  all  feelings  that  are  not  well  founded, 

* M.  Quatremlre  de  Quincy  published  a volume  with  this  title, 
as  translated  by  Mr.  Kent  in  1837,  (Lond.  8vo,)  It  is  a work  of  in- 
terest and  instruction,  that  I can  safely  recommend. 


X 


PREFACE. 


and  as  likely  to  be  directed  to  an  unworthy  object  as 
to  one  of  merit,  if  not  more  so  ; while  to  attempt  to 
pass  judgment,  is  a presumption  for  which  the  critic 
himself,  when  at  a later  day  more  enlightened,  will  in 
secret  blush  under  his  own  reproof. 

This  of  course  will  be  contested  ; but  I appeal,  for 
the  truth,  nay,  for  the  moderation  of  my  assertions,  to 
those  who  are  witnesses  of  the  daily  follies  perpetrat- 
ed in  the  name  of  criticism  in  matters  of  art,  of 
which  the  very  presumption  of  the  judgment  marks 
too  evidently  that  it  came  from  no  legitimate  tri- 
bunal. 

Now  the  reading,  I think,  of  this  treatise,  though 
it  cannot  supply  in  any  respect  the  want  of  those 
higher  works  which  treat  of  the  theory  of  the  art, 
and  of  which  there  are  great  numbers  in  all  lan- 
guages, and  very  many  of  the  best  of  them  within 
the  reach  of  even  cisatlantic  amateurs,  will  be  not  a 
little  useful  to  promote  that  appreciation  of  painting, 
and  that  discrimination  of  what  in  it  is  really  good, 
which  are  particularly  desirable  at  the  present  mo- 
ment, when  we  are  opening  our  eyes,  as  a people,  to 
the  advantages  of  its  cultivation. — Further,  the  last 
division,  or  Part  VII.,  of  the  treatise  will  be  found  of 
service  to  the  mere  owners  of  paintings,  who  are  apt 
to  suffer  from  their  confidence  in  pretended  picture 
cleaners  and  restorers,  a confidence  that  even  so 


PREFACE. 


XI 


slight  a Knowledge  of  their  practice,  as  is  here  (con- 
sistently with  the  limits  of  the  work)  presented,  would 
better  direct. 

Remember,  this  volume  is  a compilation,  and  merely 
put  forward  as  such,  though  one  of  much  labor  as  I 
shall  directly  show  ; for,  except  in  matters  that  de- 
pend not  for  their  ascertainment  upon  long  experi- 
ence, but  simply  on  observation,  study,  and  general 
theoretical  knowledge,  I have  never  presumed  to  ad- 
vance any  counsel  of  my  own  in  important  points, 
where  to  follow  it  might  be  attended  with  bad  re- 
sults, reserving  it  (saving  in  the  matters  just  except- 
ed) for  trifling  details  of  practice,  or  common  manual 
operations,  in  which  an  experience  long  and  diligent 
like  Bouvier’s,  or  an  extensive  practical  knowledge 
like  that  of  other  authorities  consulted,  was  noway 
needed. 

This  I should  have  done  in  any  event,  but  writing 
anonymously  it  becomes  to  me  imperative.  Hence 
for  the  preceding  remarks  on  the  utility  of  this  hand- 
book, I have  no  occasion  to  plead  the  argument  of 
the  facetious  Tuscan  : 

. . . “ tal  volta,  ira  I’ignota  gente, 

Lecito  ad  un’  ignoto  e gloriarsi,  . 

E dir  le  laudi  sue,  per  fare  attente 
Le  persone,  e la  grazia  guadagnarsi.”* 


Sometimes,  when  unknown  folk  surround  you^ 


Xll 


PREFACE. 


Nay,  as  a compilation  of  any  sort  falls  under  the 
category  of  those  “ lower  employments  of  life  ” in 
which  Dr.  Johnson  chose  to  class  the  labors  of  his 
Dictionary,  where  one  is  “ exposed  to  censure  with- 
out hope  of  praise  ” and  where  success  is  without 
applause,  and  diligence  without  reward,  it  may  be  al- 
lowed me  to  assume  a like  privilege  with  that  formi- 
dable name,  and  show  what  I have  done  to  reduce, 
into  a little  world  of  order,  the  somewhat  chaotic 
mass  of  Bouvier’s  abundant  and  valuable  elements, 
and  to  make,  to  the  system  when  reduced,  such  addi- 
tions as  would  render  it  more  fertile  in  good  results. 
Now  that  the  task  is  over,  which  I had  not  under- 
taken had  I anticipated  half  its  difficulty,  I am  well 
satisfied,  feeling  only  a regret  that  I had  not  met  with 
the  original  manual  at  an  earlier  day  and  been  there- 
by tempted,  as  I might  have  been,  to  do  what  I have 
done  now,  which  would  have  spared  me  in  not  a few 
particulars  what  I hope  to  spare  the  reader  in  all,  in- 
finite pains  and  worse  than  profitless  experiment. 
Can  I,  as  an  artist,  well  say  more  ? Indeed,  until  I 

To  whom  you  are  unknown,  ’tis  fair  to  mention 

Your  claims  to  worth,  that  they  may  not  confound  you 

With  vulgar  men,  but  show  you  due  attention : 

(Bkrni.  Orl.  Innarn.  i.  2,c.  xx  i.) 

an  illustrious  exampl  of  which  politic  immodesty,  by  the  by,  wa# 
Ulysses  in  the  palace  of  Alcinous. 


PREFACE. 


Xlll 


had  entered  fully  on  this  my  task,  with  the  volume 
before  me,  carefully  reading  and  weighing  all  the 
matter,  to  select  what  would  be  for  my  purpose,  I did 
not  know  all  that  I had  lost  by  the  want  of  it  at  the 
outset  of  my  own  studies.  That  many  more  will  be 
ready  to  acknowledge  the  same,  when  they  turn  ovei 
these  pages,  I have  not  the  shadow  of  a doubt. 

But  no  one  can  conceive  the  difficulty  the  writer 
has  undergone  in  unraveling  the  knot  of  Bouvier’s 
labors  ; for  such  it  is,  despite  its  value  and  its  fidel- 
ity, a voluminous  confusion  of  precious  principles 
and  discoveries,  results  of  experience,  processes  of 
operation,  etc.,  etc.,  all  mixed  together,  appearing,  dis- 
appearing and  reappearing  in  different  parts,  and 
covered  up  moreover,  if  not  at  times  concealed,  by 
an  immensity  of  verbiage,  such  as  at  his  age  (“  na- 
tura  loquacior”)  its  excellent  author  might  indulge  in, 
where  delivering  his  Lessons*  by  word  of  mouth 
and  to  a familiar  pupil.  I trust  I have  overcome  thi? 
difficulty  completely,  but  I assure  the  reader  who  i? 
to  profit  by  my  industry  and  patience,  that  in  the 
course  of  a long  and  more  or  less  constant  experi- 
ence in  letters  I have  never  before,  save  on  one  occa- 
sion, suffered  such  accesses  of  nervous  irritability  as 
in  the  drudgery  of  this  last  and  least  performance. 

In  fact,  even  when  disentangled  of  its  numerous 

• Bouvier  has  so  termed  the  divisions  of  his  book. 


XIV 


PREFACE. 


and  perplexing  repetitions,  and  when  cleared  front 
the  ambiguity  of  its  uncertain  and  (considering  its 
subject)  dangerous  style,  the  work  remains  a perfect 
Don  Juan  of  didactic  prose.  The  good  old  artist- 
teachei,  like  the  great  bard  in  that  striking  poem, 
leaves  his  subject  half  way  in  the  division  of  his 
work  that  he  has  himself  assigned  to  it,  and  talks  of 
various  other  topics  in  the  art  which  rise  up  in  con- 
nection, and  pursues  these  latter  till  the  real  theme  is 
lost,  to  be  taken  up  again,  when  we  least  look 
for  it,  in  some  other  part,  which  in  its  turn  it  has 
usurped  as  its  own  was  usurped  before.  This  in  a 
didactic  work  becomes  exceedingly  embarrassing, 
and  more  than  half  the  force  of  his  instruction, 
which,  this  digressiveness  apart,  no  man  is  better 
qualified  to  give,  evaporates.  To  take  an  image  from 
our  own  art,  it  is  as  in  some  picture,  where  the  de- 
sign and  composition  are  both  masterly,  but  the  chiar- 
oscuro badly  managed,  so  that  all  unity  of  effect 
is  lost,  and  the  eye  distracted  by  a variety  of  little 
lights  of  equal  power  scattered  everywhere,  and 
never  knowing  on  which  one  to  fix, — the  picture 
sinning  thus  against  the  unimpeachable  principle  of 
all  art,  and  producing  a bewilderment  not  unaptly 
compared,  by  artists  and  connoisseurs,  to  the  Babel  of 
a company  where  everybody  should  attempt  to  speak 
at  once.  Yet  such  as  he  is,  we  may  adapt  to  this 


PREFACE. 


XV 


amiable  artist-author  in  his  own  sphere  some  such 
expression  as  the  witty  and  vivacious  Hamilton  ap- 
plies in  eulogy  to  the  philosopher  of  Chaeronea,  whose 
features  as  a biographer  he  had  been  playfully  sketch- 
ing,* and  claim  for  him  the  merit  of  being,  of  all  in- 
structors in  the  practice  of  the  art,  the  one  to  whom 
a tyro-painter  may  easily  owe  most. 

Begging  pardon  for  this  egotism.,  into  which  I have 
been  led  by  accident,  I will  merely  add,  that  the  dif- 
ficulty of  the  task  as  here  recounted  should  be  the 
completest  evidence  that  I can  offer,  of  the  value  I 
set  upon  the  Handbook, now  presented,  as  a guide  to  all 
young  artists  and  to  amateurs.  It  had  been  so  much 
easier,  and  so  much  more  meritorious  in  the  eyes  of 
the  artist- world  to  write  a volume  of  one’s  own,  that 
when  in  preference  I give  the  pith  of  another’s  com- 
position, remodelling  it  in  its  arrangement,  clearing 
it  of  its  ambiguity,  and  changing  altogether  its  desul- 
tory, involved,  and  rather  garrulous  style,  putting,  in 
a word,  its  various  confused  but  mostly  precious  pieces 
together  in  their  proper  places,  now  diminishing,  now 
enlarging  them,  and  now  again  substituting  a cor- 
rector part,  and  adding  to  the  elaborate  mosaic,  so  as 
to  make  one  uniform  whole  whose  various  derivation 
shall  not  be  perceptible,  the  equally  valuable  materi- 
als gathered  from  various  other  sources,  usually  of  a 

’ In  the  (of  their  kind,  incomparable)  MSmoires  de  Grammont 


XVI 


PREFACE. 


higher  classification  still, — when,  I say,  I present  so 
elaborate  a compilation,  whose  most  favorable  recep- 
tion can  bring  me  no  honor,  though,  I may  be  per- 
mitted to  repeat,  it  would  have  been  so  much  easier  to 
have  written  out  a volume  exclusively  my  own,  which, 
in  case  of  its  success,  would  have  satisfied  ambition 
and  given  pleasure  to  vanity,  it  must  be  evident  that 
I have  thought  the  present  work  would  be  greatly 
more  complete  from  its  minute  detail,  more  worthy  of 
confidence  from  the  reputation  and  experience  of  the 
authors,  and  more  directly  advantageous  in  all  points 
of  view  to  the  class  of  persons  to  whose  use  it  is 
especially  dedicated. 

In  this  work,  as  I have  written  it,  I shall  be  found 
to  have  used  few  expressions  that  are  purely  techni- 
cal. For  the  explication  of  these  few,  should  they 
despite  the  context,  present  any  difficulty,  the  student 
is  referred  to  the  Dictionarrj  of  Terms  at  the  end  of 
the  volume.  In  this  Dictionary,  which  as  being  a 
work  of  my  own  left  me  more  unrestrained,  I m€iy 
be  thought  by  some  persons  to  have  given  too  much 
space  to  philological  criticism,  besides  entermg  toe 
much  into  detail,  in  some  other  particulars,  rather  the- 
oretical than  practical ; as,  for  example,  in  considering 
the  words  jEsthetic,  Ectype,  Eurythmy,  Impasto- 
Incarnate^  Isabelle,  Lazzi,  Nimbus,  Relief,  etc.,  etc. 
but  they  must  remember,  that,  though  no  longer  in 


PREFACE. 


XVI 


the  pinnace  of  my  commander,  I am  yet  steering  for 
the  same  port.  My  object  is  the  instruction,  not  of 
artists,  but  of  those  that  would  be  such ; and  with 
the  high  idea  I have  of  painting,  and  of  its  profes- 
sors (as  they  should  be),  my  duty  could  not  other- 
wise have  well  been  done  than  as  accident  has  made 
me  find  it  my  delight  to  do  it.  “ You  must  know,” 
says  the  old  Cennino — as  Mrs.  Merrifield  translates 
him,  “ that  painting  pictures  is  the  proper  employ- 
ment of  a gentleman ; and  that  with  velvet  on  his 
back  he  may  paint  what  he  pleases  and  to  be  a 
“ gentleman,”  or  (as  we  should  say,  in  modern  times, 
in  the  phrase  of  Cennino),  with  broadcloth  on  his  hack, 
the  painter  should  not  only  use  the  language  of  his 
art  with  propriety  and  understanding,  but  with  ele- 
gance. 

Finally,  the  Index,  at  the  close  of  the  treatise,  is 
one  of  those  things  that  I consider  necessary  in  all 
such  books  as  the  present.  Its  uses  need  no  expla- 
nation ; nor  will  the  young  artist  be  slow  in  availing 
himself  of  such  an  assistance.  First,  however,  let 
the  book  be  well  gone  through,  not  once,  but  twice, 
adding  thereto  the  Dictionary  just  mentioned,  which 
contains  much  useful  information  on  some  of  the 
most  important  and  best  established  principles  of  the 
art.  A.  A. 


New  York,  April,  1845. 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  ARTIST 


“ Imagine  not  that  the  profession  of  a painter  is  that 
of  an  idler ; on  the  contrary,  it  is  of  all  occupations  the 
one  perhaps  that  requires  most  activity ; for  one  is  con- 
stantly engaged,  if  not  with  the  art  itself,  at  least  with  its 
materials. 

“ All  true  artists  will  tell  you,  that  if  the  art  of  paint- 
ing were  not  in  itself  replete  with  charms,  as  in  fact  it  is 
for  all  those  who  practise  it  with  love,  it  would  be  a very 
painful  pursuit,  so  many  precautions  are  there  to  be  taken, 
so  many  things  to  be  calculated,  foreseen,  and  prepared, 
independently  of  the  considerable  time  which  must  be 
consecrated  to  it  for  the  art  itself,  if  one  would  make 
progress.” 

Thus  says  the  excellent  Genevan,  whom  I shall  so  often 
present  to  your  respect  and  affection  ; and  it  is  but  simple 
truth.  How  indeed  should  it  be  otherwise  with  the  pro- 
fession of  a painter,  since  it  is  so  in  every  part  of  life  ? 
Mentally,  morally,  physically,  our  whole  existence  is  a 
struggle  against  obstacles.  Happy  he,  not  who  has  the 
fewest  to  encounter,  but  who  has  the  most  spirit  and 
perseverance  to  surmount  them,  or  the  resignation  to 
submit  to  disappointment,  when  they  prove  insuperable ! 


XX 


ADDRLSS  TO  THE  YOUNG  ARTIST. 


But  courage  ! the  way  though  difficult, — arduous  ana 
perplexing  more  than  you  can  yet  conceive,  has  been 
trodden  without  fear  by  multitudes,  and  with  good  success 
by  not  a few ; there  is  no  reason  then,  that,  with  zeal  and 
constancy,  the  same  Alps  should  not  be  climbed,  the  same 
valleys  descended  into,  still ; and  the  guides  we  have  pro- 
vided for  the  perilous  and  toilsome  way  are  of  the  best 
that  could  be  had,  long  experienced  in  the  route,  faithful 
in  their  undertaken  duties,  and  animated  with  a heartfelt 
interest  in  the  success  of  the  adventurous  traveller  whose, 
steps  they  have  professed  to  lead.  All  that  is  needed  is 
perseverance.  If  this  be  not,  better  at  once  give  over 
the  attempt ; for  be  assured  that  without  it  there  i^.- 
no  real  genius.  No,  not  in  anything  ! And  here,  in  this 
particular  art,  the  great  Da  Vinci  has  made  it  a test  of 
real  aptitude  for  its  pursuit,  maintaining  that  to  be  dis 
heartened  by  its  difficulties,  or  to  weary  of  its  toil,  is  8». 
proof  that  the  desire  for  success  therein  is  a mere  tempo- 
rary emotion,  the  child  of  vanity  and  caprice,  such  as  is 
born  to  thousands,  and  not  the  legitimate  offspring  of  a 
genius  for  painting  : which  be  assured  is  rational  dis- 
course. These  thousands  that  I speak  of,  are  they  nai 
seen  daily  in  the  sister-art  of  poetry  (that  twin  that  never 
should  be  separated,  though  too  often  found  so,  from  her 
womb-fellow,  whom  she  loves  with  ardor  that  is  seldom 
more  than  feebly  returned,  and  to  whose  side  she  would 
ever  cling,  but  that  the  latter  is,  in  many  ways,  for  ever 
repulsing  her  sweet  advances), — do  we  not  see  them  as 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  ARTIST. 


xxi 


Vicn  AS  with  us,  rhymers  for  occasion,  as  there  are 
painters  for  the  friend’s  or  parent’s  parlor  ? To  be  such 
is  not  difficult : here  in  this  very  volume  will  such 
aspirants  find  all  that  is  needful  fcr  instruction.  But 
I will  suppose  you  animated  with  a loftier  and  a steadier 
fire.  You  will  not  then  be  chilled  at  a first,  no,  nor 
second,  nor  yet  a third  failure : do  what  you  will,  most 
if  not  all  of  the  errors,  that  are  particularly  noted  in  the 
treatise  as  incidental  to  beginners,  will  be  more  or  less 
conspicuous  in  your  early  essays.  But  you  are  taught, 
that  they  are  errors ; and  you  will  correct  them. 

What  Winkelmann  says  of  the  fine  arts  in  general,* 
may  be  applied  to  their  practice  in  every  particular 
instance  ; that  is  to  say,  as  they  have  had  their  childhood 
and  pubescence,  in  which  only  the  bombastic  and  wonder- 
ful gave  pleasure,  so  through  all  time  the  commencement 
of  the  art  in  each  individual  painter  displays,  with  very 
rare  exceptions,  the  wish  to  excite  admiration  by  means 
which  more  experience,  and  a taste  more  highly  cultivated, 
teach  him  to  reject.  If,  as  that  judicious,  though  enthusi- 

* “ Die  schonen  Kunste  haben  ihre  Jugend  so  wohl,  wie  die 
MenscheUi  und  der  Anfang  dieser  Kunste  scheinet  wie  der 
Anfang  hey  Kunstlern  gewesen  zu  seyn,  wo  nur  das  Hochtra- 
bendOy  das  Erstaunende  gefdllt,  Solche  Gestalt  hatte  die 
tragische  Muse  des  Aeschylus,  und  sein  Agamemnon  ist  zum  Theil 
durch  Hyperbolen  viel  dunkler  geworden,  als  alles,  was  Heraklit 
geschrieben.  Vielleicht  haben  die  ersten  griechischen  Maler  nicht 
anders  gezeichnet,  als  ihr  erster  guter  Tragicus  gedichtet  hat* 
Nachahmung  der  griechischen  We rke.  Dresd.yll^Q.  S.  24. 


Xlii  ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  ARTIST. 

astic  scholar  conjectures,  the  earliest  painters  jf  immortal 
Greece  designed  not  otherwise  than  her  first  good  tragic- 
poet  composed,  so  in  all  time  the  first  paintings  of  every 
artist  will  be  but  as  the  first  attempts  at  verse  of  every 
poet,  displaying  power  perhaps,  but  little  regulated,  and 
^ taste  in  its  immaturity,  or  under  the  evil  rule  of  a domi- 
nant vanity. 

Further,  in  all  human  performances,  the  violent  and 
impetuous,  the  volatile  and  superficial,  go  before;  they 
are  the  un weighed  action  and  the  glittering  but  unsubstan- 
tial product  of  ill-regulated  talent,  pleased  with  its  own 
exertion,  excited  by  the  anticipation  of  its  longed-for 
triumph,  and  dazzled  at  the  crude  splendor  and  florid 
unsubstantiality  of  its  own  success : slowly  after  them,  but 
eventually  to  take  the  lead  and  long  to  keep  it,  march  the 
grave  and  solid,  the  steady,  self-collected,  and  sedate ; the 
long-meditated,  but  perhaps  rapidly  executed  achievements 
of  well-grounded  principles,  whose  base  is  nature,  and 
whose  structure  analysis  and  the  sober  observation  and 
comparison  of  known  results.* 

* “ Das  Heftige,  das  Fluchtige  gehet  in  alien  menschlichen 
Handlungen  voran  ; das  Gesetze,  das  Grundliche  folget  zuletzt.” 
Same ; same  place.  He  adds  well : “ Dieses  letztere  aber  gebrau- 
chet  Zeit,  es  zu  bewundern ; es  ist  nur  grossen  Meistern  eigen  : 
heftige  Leidenschaften  sind  ein  Vortheil  auch  fiir  ihre  Schuler.” 

Winkelmann’s  object,  however,  is  to  institute  a comparison  favor- 
able  to  that  noble  simplicity  and  calm  grandeur  (“  die  edle 
Einfalt  und  stille  Grosse”)  which  everybody  acknowledges,  by  his 
heart  if  not  his  lips,  to  be  one  of  the  divinest  characteristics  of  a 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  ARTIST. 


XXlll 


And  as  for  what  concerns  the  mere  management  of  the 
pencil  in  every  part,  it  is  evident  that  a watchful,  diligent, 
and  thoughtful  practice,  a practice  that  is  not  merely  of 
the  hand  and  eyes  but  also  of  the  mind,  preceded,  fol- 
lowed, and  sustained  throughout  by  judicious  and  incessant 
observation  and  comparison,  will  be  needed  even  here. 
But  why  need  I dilate  on  what  must  be  self-manifest? 
Even  Titian,  we  are  told,  was  hard  at  first, — (and  we  can 
readily  suppose  it ; his  very  anxiety  to  render  nature  with 
exactness  would  lead  him  into  such  a fault) ; and  do  we 
not  know  that  RaphaeFs  early  style  was  stiff,  and  that  he 
has  left  examples,  dry*  and  destitute  of  fine  relief  ? The 
nice  perception  and  the  sensibility  for  colors  are  undoubt- 
edly a gift  of  nature,  as  is  the  sense  of  melody ; yet  how 
many  from  natural  adaptation  alone  have  become  musi- 
cians ? And  even  these,  rare  as  comets  in  the  planetary 
system,  the  erratic  meteors  of  brief  and  distant  intervals, 
even  these  required  practice,  ere  they  manifested  perfect 
skill. 

plurali*/  jf  the  Greek  statues,  the  essence  of  their  typical  divinity 
in  fact,  and  to  the  observation  of  which  I have  no  doubt  was  owing, 
as  Winkelmann  himself  supposes,  the  chief  merits  of  Raphael’s 
design.  But  that  does  not  render  the  citation  less  apposite  for 
my  text,  the  sentiments  of  which  I have  sought  to  make  respectable 
by  associating  them  with  those  of  so  high  an  authority. 

* Dry , and,  above.  Hard. — These  are  what  we  consider  instances 
of  the  tse  of  terms  in  a sense  “ purely  technical,”  as  said  on  page 
xvi. : its  ooject  is  to  save  a circumlocution  that,  if  more  intelligible, 
would  be  Jjss  expressive.  The  beginner  will  consult  the  Dtc- 
tionary 


XXiy  ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  ARTIST. 

Once  more  then,  courage  ! Though  not  here,  as  in 
some  necromancer’s  castle  of  antique  romance,  where 
merely  to  touch  a forbidden  sword,  or  wind  the  magic 
horn  whose  echoes  threatened  instantaneous  annihilation, 
was  to  dissolve  at  once  the  baseless  fabric  of  enchantment, 
is  it  needed  simply  to  have  firmness  and  a fixed  resolve  in 
order  to  conquer,  yet  to  dare  nobly  (never  rashly)  is 
certainly  the  first  step  to  victory.  Never  rashly  ; no,  the 
very  first  thing  you  should  do,  is  well  to  ascertain  your 
proper  strength,  and  where  your  talent  really  lies,  as  the 
familiar  poet,  whom  I shall  be  found  to  have  more  than 
one  occasion  to  cite  for  your  instruction,  has  so  well 
advised ; for  the  rules  of  his  art  are  those,  in  their 
abstract  principles,  which  regulate  your  own : 

“ Sumite  materiam  vestris,  qui  pingitis,  aequam 
Viribus;  et  versate  diu,  quid  ferre  recusent. 

Quid  valeant  humeri.” 


A.  A. 


POSTSCRIPT-ADVERTISEMENT 


Since  this  volume  was  prepared  for  the  press,  and  accepted  by  the 
publishers,  the  author  or  compiler  has  thoroughly  revised  it,  and 
added  many  useful  little  items  from  Mr.  Field’s  Chromatography y 
and  from  some  other  English  works  of  the  immediate  period.  His 
confidence  tnerefore  in  its  utility,  to  the  Young  Artist  and  the 
Amateur,  is  rendered  if  possible  still  more  positive  ; and  he  issues 
it  now  with  the  full  assurance,  that,  for  all  that  it  pretends  to  teach, 
the  Handbook  will  be  found  not  wanting  in  any  point  of  informa- 
tion made  requisite  by  the  present  state  of  the  Art  of  Oilpainting. 


^ovembert  1845. 


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IS. ' ' ■ '•'■*■  i^,',  ...^  ■,.4-..  %'\i : ^.  . , 

> ( '♦  .,-••>••■.  ^ T. ».►[(>(.  I di,*  f,  ^ ^ 

*'■  :'.-4.'M  / ...  , ■ . ■ ':. 

Vi  ^.;»'l|■.  , '•»»’'■>.  i.4jtAV  i|Hr'‘ •■ 


^V\#  '■ 


THE  SEVEN  PARTS  OF  THE  HANDBOOK. 


CONTENTS  OF  THE  CHAPTERS. 


FIRST  PART. 

THE  MATERIALS  AND  IMPLEMENTS  OF  PAINTING. 
Chapter  I.  List  of  the  best  colors  employed  by  artist*^ 


with  their  quality  as  good  or  bad  driers Page  1 

II.  Detailed  account  of  the  nature,  properties,  and  uses 
of  the  various  colors  given  in  the  preceding  List i 


III.  List  of  all  the  colors  at  present  employed  in  paint- 

ings arranged  in  three  elassesy  according  to  their  d::> 
gree  of  fixedness  or  permanence 

IV.  Brief  account  of  the  nature^  properties  and  uses  of 

such  pigmentSy  in  the  preceding  Listy  as  have  not  al- 
ready been  described  in  Chapter  11. 

V.  Summary  of  the  opinions  generally  received  with  re- 
gard to  the  solidity  of  the  various  colors  now  in  use  for 
oilpainting. 54 

VI.  Methods  of  making  certain  colors  that  are  not  to  be 
obtained  at  the  shops,  but  yet  are  indicated  in  the  preced- 


ing chapters 59 

VII.  Manner  of  burning  Venice  Lake  or  Carmine,  to 
deepen  their  toney  and  add  solidityy — an  invention  of 
M Bouvier’s 65 


xxviii 


CONTENTS. 


Vlli.  Of  prepared  colors^  and  of  the  manner  of  keeping 

them  when  in  quantity 66 

IX.  Of  the  different  oils  used  as  vehicles  of  color 70 

X.  Q/*  Drying-oil,  and  its  uses 73 

XI.  Another  drying-oil ; the  invention  of  Grandi 75 

XII.  Methods  of  bleaching  Poppy-oil,  and  rendering  it 

more  desiccative ; with  a succinct  account  of  other 
white  and  pale  Drying-oils 76 

XIII.  Certain  varnishesj  used  by  some  painters^  or  for 

specific  purposes^  as  vehicles  of  color 79 

XIV.  Of  volatile-oils 83 

XV.  O/*  Asphaltum,  and  the  methods  of  preparing  it  for 
use 86 

XVI.  Varnish  for  pictures  y when  finished 91 

XVII.  Of  Pencils  and  Brushes  ; and  how  to  choose  them,  93 

XVIII.  How  to  clean  them 96 

XIX.  How  to  preserve  them  from  moths 99 

XX.  Of  Palettes y Easels y and  the  Rest-stick 102 

XXL  Of  the  Slab  and  Muller  ; and  of  the  mode  of  Using 

and  of  cleaning  them 105 

XXII.  Of  the  Mannekin  or  Lay  figure  ; with  a description 
of  a kind  which  the  artist  may  construct  economically 
himself 109 

XXIII.  Of  Picturecloths  and  Panels 113 

XXIV.  Showingy  by  an  actual  Bill  of  SalCy  at  what  cost 

i/ie  beginner  may  essay  his  talent  for  oUpainting, ..  118 


CONTENTS. 


xxil 


SECOND  PART 

OF  CERTAIN  MATTERS  WHICH  BELONG  NOT  SO  MUCH  TO 
THE  MATERIAL  OF  PAINTING  AS  TO  ITS  OPERATIONS,  AND 
WHICH  HAVE  THEREFORE  NOT  BEEN  COMPRISED  IN  THE 
FIRST  PART,  THOUGH  THEY  SHOULD  BE  KNOWN  PREVIOUSLY 
TO  ENTERING  ON  THE  THIRD. 

I.  The  study  or  workroom  of  the  painter : its  dimensions^ 

and  the  proper  light  for  it  in  ordinary 124 

II,  How  to  procure  particular  reflections,  and  modify  the 

tones  given  by  the  walls  or  ordinary  objects  of  the  paint- 
er’s study  ; and  how  to  exclude  reflections  coming  from 
objects  without 129 

III.  Of  certain  peculiar  lights  that  may  be  given  to  the 
model,  on  occasion 133 

ifow  Oie  artist  may  best  secure  himself  against  dust  135 

V.  O/* Glazing.  Its  advantages  and  disadvantages...,  137 

VI,  Of  Preparations 14(J 

VII.  Of  or  Thick  Painting 143 

\rill.  List  of  colors  sufficiently  transparent  for  the  purpose 
of  Glazing 145 

IX.  Useful  Hints  and  Observations  with  regard  to 
Glazing 146 

X General  Advice  to  the  Young  Artist,  or  Amateur,  for 
tuC  laying-on  of  his  colors 149 


xxz 


CONTENTS. 


THIRD  PART. 

THE  FIRST  PALETTE,  OR  DEADCOLORINO. 

I.  Composition  and  methodical  arrangement  of  the 

Fleshtints  for  the  First-Palette. IM 

II.  The  Palette  completed  by  the  Tints  for  the  Acces- 
sories  164 

HI.  Return  to  the  matter  of  Chapter  11.  ; with  some  obser- 
vations on  the  advantage  to  a Young  Artist  of  a syste- 
matic and  detailed  arrangement  of  the  tints  of  his 
palette 166 

IV.  In  what  way  the  Design  is  transferred  to  the  canvas 
or  other  subjectile,  and  then  rectified^  and  made  out  more 
distinctly^  with  the  hair-pencil 16S 

V.  The  process  of  First-painting  or  Deadcoloring 172 

VI.  Exemplification  of  the  method  inculcated  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter 176 

VII.  Of  the  different  tints  of  the  Reflections  in  Carnations  179 

VIII.  The  method  of  blending  or  melting  the  tints  together  J80 

IX.  Of  certain  Finishing-touches  for  the  completion  of  the 
First-painting 183 

X.  The  work  of  the  First-painting  distributed  into  days  187 

XI.  The  deadcoloring  of  the  Background  and  other  acces- 
sories  180 

XII.  The  drying  of  the  Sketch  or  First-painting. ........  192 

XIII.  Rubens^  Lesson  to  the  Young  Artist 1®^ 


CONTENTS. 


XXZl 

FOURTH  PART. 

THE  SECOND  OR  FINISHING  PALETTE. 

L Composition  and  methodical  arrangement  of  the 
Fleshtints  for  the  Second-Palette 199 

II.  Completion  of  the  Second-Palette 208 

III.  How  to  prepare  the  sketch  for  Repainting 210 

IV.  Process  of  the  Second-painting ; for  the  Head  in 

general 212 

V.  The  process  for  the  Eyes,  and  parts  connected 216 

VI.  The  Painting  of  the  Neck,  Shoulders  and  Breast. . . . 219 

VII.  The  Arms  and  Hands 222 

VIII.  Of  certain  Defects  of  the  Skin 224 

IX.  Of  Fidelity  of  Resemblance 226 

X.  Recapitulation  ; including  some  additional  observa- 
tions on  the  Finishing 230 

XI.  The  work  of  the  Second  painting  distributed 235 

XII.  The  Artisfs  Mirror 238 


FIFTH  PART. 

TF  THE  PAINTING  OF  DRAPERIES,  AND  THEIR  MANAGEMEI^I 
IN  GENERAL. 

I.  General  observations  on  the  expression  of  the  Material 
of  Draperies 243 


II.  General  observations  *he  adaptation  of  the  Color  245 


xxxii 


CONTENTS. 


Ill  Of  the  Cast,  or  Adjustment  of  Draperies 247 

IV.  In  what  manner  the  Material  of  a Drapery  is  char- 
acterized; and  first,  where  of  close  texture 250 

V In  what  manner  the  stuff  is  characterized  where  light 
and  transparent 252 

VI.  Mode,  in  general,  of  painting  Draperies,  exemplified 

in  one  of  dark-blue  cloth.  The  First-painting 254 

VII.  The  Example  continued.  The  Second-painting , 25€ 

V^III.  Flying-Draperies 2.58 


SIXTH  PART. 

LANDSCAPE-PAINTING. 

I.  General  Observations.  Imitation:  Propriety 263 

II.  Skies  an£?  Distances 265 

III.  How  Trees  are  charactered  in  their  kinds.  The 

mode  o/ Leafing.  Advice  to  the  beginner 269 

IV.  Management  of  Trees  in  the  First-painting.  The 

Deadcolors  for  these  and  other  terrestrial  parts  of 
Landscapes 271 

V.  The  finishing  of  Trees  and  other  verdant  parts. 

Composition  of  Broken-Greens.  Greens  of  the  Distances. 
Accidents  of  Sunlight 273 

VI.  Preparation  for  a Landscape,  when  the  ground  of 
ihe  subjectile  is  white  or  light- gray.  Advantages  of  the 
method 275 


CONTENTS. 


xxxiii 


SEVENTH  PART. 

THE  VAENISHING,  CLEANING,  REPAIRING,  AND  LINING  OP 
PICTURES. 

I.  Of  the  Varnish  made  of  White-of-Egg,  its  uses  and 
the  mode  of  applying  it 281 

II.  The  mode  of  Varnishing  with  Mastic-Varnish 285 

III.  The  methods  of  Removing  a Mastic- Varnish  when 
necessary 287 

IV  Of  certain  Injuries  to  which  Paintings  on  canvas 
a»t  tiable,  and  the  modes  of  Repairing  them,  i . 292 


Sensim  per  oarteo  ^j^jjuntur  quaelibet  artet. 

Artis  Pictorum  prior  factura  Colorum. 

Pest  ad  miy+H''a.s  comraittat  mens  tua  curas 

Hoc  opus  exerce*  sed  ad  unguem  cuncta  coherce; 
Ut  sit  ad  ornatuc  auod  pinxeris,  et  quasi  natum 
Postea,  multoruiu  atn^amentis  ing^niorum, 

Ara  opus  augebit, — sicut  liber  iste  docebit. 

, de  Omni  Scientia  See. 
(From  the  Cambridge  Mft.,  cm  published  by  Raspe 


RT  I. 


TOE  MATERIALS  AN.’  WPLEMENTS  OF  THE  AET 


HANDBOOK 


*'OrNG  ARTISTS  ARD  AMATEURS 

IW 

0 I L P A I N T I N G. 


PARX  THE  FIRSX- 

CHAPTER  I. 

LIST  OF  THE  BEST  COLORS  EMPLOYED  BY  ARTISTS,  WirH 
THETR  QUALITIES  AS  GOOD  OR  BAD  DRIERS. 

We  commence  our  compendium  by  giving,  with  but  little 
modification,  the  list  of  pigments  and  colors  with  which 
Bouvier  precedes  the  first  of  his  Lessons.  In  Chapter  II. 
will  be  found  a full  statement  of  their  characters,  uses, 
and,  where  requisite,  their  mode  of  preparation. 

This  List  its  author  calls  a tested  or  approved  one ; and 
he  adds,  therein,  to  each  color,  its  quality  as  a good  or 
bad  drier.  A useful  indication,  which  we  follow. 

WHITES. 

No.  1.  Krems,  or  Silver  White.  The  finest  prepara- 
tion of  the  oxyd  or  subcarbonate  of  lead.  It  dries  rapidly. 

No.  2.  The  ordinary  and  cheaper  Whitelead ; which 
may  be  used  (though  there  is  no  advantage  in  such  econo- 
my) for  grounds,  &c.  Its  drying-quality  is  of  course  the 


same. 


2 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


Observ.  We  class  the  Krems  and  Silver  White  as  onej 
because  the  latter  name  is  merely  significative  of  the 
brilliant  and  pure  whiteness  of  the  preparation ; and  tlie 
designation,  at  first  confined  to  a French  manufacture 
{Blanc  d’argent),  is  now  applied  to  all  whiteleads  of 
equal  quality,  without  regard  to  their  place  of  origin. 
(See  note  to  No.  1 of  the  next  Chapler.)  Flake  A kite  is  a 
similar  material,  though  generally  reputed  of  greater  body. 
It  derives  its  name  from  its  form  in  commerce,  coming  to 
the  shops  in  flakes  or  scales,  as  the  Krems  White  (which, 
being  received  directly  from  Vienna,  has  also  been  known 
as  Vienna  White)  is  imported  in  small  cubical  masses,  and 
the  Silver  White  proper  appears  in  drops,  that  is,  little 
cones.  Flake  White,  when  levigated,  has  been  sometimes 
called  Bodij-iohite,  from  the  quality  above  named.  Though 
formerly  the  white  by  preference,  it  is  now  but  little  used 
in  comparison  with  the  Krems,  Kremnitz  (see  note  as 
above),  and  Silver  whites. 

In  fact  the  whites  of  lead  cari  only  be  truly  classed 
according  to  their  degrees  of  pureness  ; the  first  or  finest 
comprising  a"'!  the  artist’s  best  lead-whites,  whether  of 
England,  Frc-ioe,  Austria,  or  Hungary  ; the  second,  com- 
mon, yet  unmixed  Whitelead ; and  the  third.  Ceruse, 
which  is  whiteF-:3.d  w’.th  different  chalky  earths  in  various 
proportions. 


YBLLOWO-. 

No.  3.  Naples  Yellow.  Fries  well. 

No.  4.  Yellow  Ochre.  Dries  slowly,  when  used  by 
itself. 

No.  5.  Brown  Ochre,  or  Homan  Ochre ; a dusky,  brown- 
ish yellow.  Dries  better  than  the  preceding. 


COLORS  IK  ¥SE. 


s 


No.  6.  Indian  Yellow.  Requires  Drying-oil,  or  o^her 
desiccative  agent. 


REDS. 

No.  7.  Light  Red.  Dries  quite  well. 

No.  8.  Brown  Red.  Same  property. 

? 'o,  9.  Vermilions,  bo:h  European  and  Chinese.  Dry 
slowly, 

fb*.  10.  Madder-Lakes,  of  different  degrees  of  intensity, 
h bv'  I file  Rose  to  Crims  -m.  Dry  very  slowly. 

No.  11.  Burnt  Carmine,  or  Bt.  Venetian  Lake.  Dries 

N:i.  12.  English  Red  (^Prussian,  or  Venetian  Red), 
Dries  tolerably. — Bt.  Italian  Earth  ( Terre  PItalie  ; Terra 

Italia)  is  a very  fine  deep  brownish  red,  of  powerful  tone ; 
but  according  to  Bouvier  it  has  a great  tendency  (like  other 
bituminous  earths),  to  darken  by  age  : hence  he  omits  it 
in  the  List,  substituting  this  safer  pigment.  In  respect  of 
solidity,  however,  it  will  be  seen,  in  Chapter  III.,  that  a 
reliable  authority  ranks  this  ochre,  when  burnt,  in  the  first 
order  of  colors.  It  is  without  doubt  to  be  classed  in  its 
raw  and  calcined  state  with  Raw  and  Burnt  Sienna. 

BLUES. 

No.  13.  Ultramarine,  of  the  various  qualities  and  degi  ees 
of  intensffy.  Dries  slowly,  by  itself. 

No.  14.  Prussian  Blue.  A good  drier. 

No,  15.  Smalt.  Dries  quickly. 

No.  16.  Cobalt  or  Thenard’s  Blue.  Less  promptly  than 
last. 

Note.  Never  use  in  oil  either  Ultramanne-ashes,  or 
Antwerp  Blue,  or  Indigo  ; nor  any  other  blue  but  those  just 


4 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


indicated.  They  will  either  take  a greenish  cast,  or 
darken,  and  are  only  good  or  tolerable  as  watercolors.  • 

BROWNS. 

No.  17.  Raw  Sienna  Earth.  Dries  with  difficulty. 

No.  18.  Burnt  Sienna  Earth.  Same  character. 

No.  19.  Brown  of  Prussian  Blue  (made,  that  is.  from 
the  calcination  of  Prussian  Blue  ; a discovery  of  a.  ft  iend 
of  Bouvier’s,  which  will  be  fully  descilbed  in  its  o'acu.) 
This  is  from  the  French  Prussian  Blue,  and  whe^  ;he 
operation  has  been  fully  successful,  is  of  a fine  hi<  .*  le. 
It  dries  well. 

No.  20.  Broim  of  Prussian  Blue;  from  the  fJngli.ih 
fabric.  It  is  of  another  hue,  as  will  be  presently  sho'^c.. 
It  dries  tolerably. 

No.  21 . Ashphalt,  or  Bitumen.  Dries  with  great  difficulty. 

No.  22.  Cassel  Earth.  Dries  very  slowly. 

No.  23.  Cologne  Earth.  Dries  very  slowly. 

No.  24.  Composite  Brown.  (An  occasional  mixture  of 
great  variety,  prepared  on  the  palette.)  Dries  very 
slowly. 

BLACKS. 

No.  25.  Ivory-Black  (very  black).  Dries  with  aiff. 
culty. 

* And  even  as  a watercolor,  Antwerp,  otherwise  Mineral  Blue, 
is  said  by  writers  on  Miniature  to  be  not  permanent : fading  in  the 
air  and  light,  and  darkening  when  deprived  of  them.  It  is  but  a 
modification  of  Prussian  Blue,  containing  more  of  alumen.  As  for 
Ultramarine- ashes  (which  is  the  residue  of  the  lazulite  after  its 
pure  blue  is  extracted),  Mr.  P'ield  considers  it,  in  its  different 
shades,  an  “extremely  useful  pigment”  for  the  composition  of 
greys  with  white.  But,  observe,  it  is  but  the  refuse,  after  all,  of 
n precious  color. 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


5 


No.  26.  Coffee-Black  (a  pigment  little  known.)  Dries 
tolerably. 

No.  27.  Paper-Black  (of  a soft,  bluish  shade.)  Dries 
tolerably. 

No.  28.  Cork-Black  (very  bluish.)  Slow  drier. 

No.  29.  Vine-Black  (bluish.)  Slow  drier. 

No.  30.  Black  of  Prussian  Blue  (very  black,  with  a 
bluish  cast).  Dries  more  rapidly  than  all  the  other  blacks. 

No.  31.  Russian  Black  (an  earth  little  known,  very 
black).  Dries  slowly. 

No.  32.  Bone-Black  (reddish).  Dries  badly. 

No.  33.  Peach-Black  (violaceous).  Very  bad  drier. 

GREEN. 

(Of  rare  usage.  Good  only  to  glaze  with.) 

No.  34.  Verdigris,  distilled.  Dries  with  great  difficulty. 

Ohservation.  Bouvier’s  great  particularity  has  made 
him  confine  his  unmixed  greens  to  one  only,  and  that 
“ of  rare  usage,”  though  in  his  first  edition  he  had  added, 
but  with  a caution,  one  other.  Green  Lake.  Indeed  Greens 
as  simple  pigments  are  superfluous,  their  composition  be- 
ing of  so  perfect  facility  in  every  hue  and  shade ; yet  we 
shall  presently  see  that  there  are  a few  that  might  easily 
be  added  to  the  List,  as  far  as  mere  character  goes. 


In  using  Drying-oil  with  tnose  colors  wnich  other- 
wise would  remain  too  long  humid,  a different  mode  of 
application  is  recommended  for  large  pieces  (draperies, 
&c.),  or  for  colors  that  are  very  slow  to  dry,  from  that 
which  should  be  adopted  in  smaller  parts  (as  in  the 
stronger  shadows  of  carnations),  or  where  the  colors 


6 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


are,  with  the  aid  of  this  oil,  less  hard  of  drying.  In  the 
former  case  it  may  be  incorporated  with  the  colors  on  the 
palette  ; in  the  latter,  it  is  to  be  used  at  the  end  of  the 
pencil,  at  the  moment  of  applying  the  color.  (See  Chap- 
ter VIII.)  Where  White,  or  Naples  Yellow,  or  Smalt, 
enters  into  the  composition  of  a tint,  the  Drying-oil  is  un- 
necessary, and,  as  will  be  seen  when  we  come  to  treat  of 
its  qualities,  even  prejudicial. 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


7 


CHAPTER  II. 

i DETAILED  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  NATURE,  PROPERTIES,  AND 
USES  OF  THE  VARIOUS  COLORS  GIVEN  IN  THE  PRECED- 
ING LIST. 


WHITES. 

No.  1.  Krems^  White,  or  Silver  White. 

In  all  cases  where  purity  of  tint  is  desirable,  this,  the 
most  perfect  oxidation  of  the  metal,  is  always  to  be  used ; 
for  lead  has  a tendency  to  resume  its  native  hue,  even  in 
oil.  It  is  bought  at  the  colorman’s  in  tubes  and  half,, 
tubes  of  tin  or  zinc,  already  prepared.  Those  who  pur- 
chase it  dry,  are  to  judge  of  its  pureness  by  its  v^erfect 
whiteness,  and  its  great  weight.  It  comes,  for  the  use  of 
artists,  already  washed,  and  in  the  form  of  little  cones,  in 
which  it  has  been  dried. 

* Krems  or  Crems  is  a place  near  Vienna,  in  Austria  (not  to  be 
confounded  with  Cremnitz,  or  Kremnitz,  of  Lower  Hungary),  The 
White  there  made  is  prepared  with  vinegar,  the  smell  of  which  ia 
very  perceptible  in  this  pigment  when  new.  A Silver  White  has 
of  late  years  been  manufactured  at  the  establishment  at  Clichy, 
near  Paris  (of  which,  if  we  mistake  not.  Sue  has  given  such  „ 
frightful  account  in  his  Mysteries).  It  is  said  to  be  fully  equal,  if 
not  superior,  to  the  Austrian.  That  which  we  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  use  here,  came,  we  were  told  by  the  colorman,  from  Hun- 
gary. Within  a short  time  this  has  given  place  to  a Silver  Whitt 
from  London,  which  is  of  equal,  if  not  greater,  beauty. 


8 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


No.  2.  Whitelead. 

In  tlie  painting  of  large  pictures,  in  those  parts  where 
the  corruption  of  the  tint  is  not  of  importance,  this  cheaper 
form  of  the  oxyd  may  be  used,  though,  as  we  have  said 
before,  we  can  see  no  advantage  in  such  economy,  the 
cost  of  his  pigments,  even  of  the  most  precious,  being  but 
comparatively  a trifle,  however  great  the  quantity  used 
by  the  artist. 

In  grinding  whitelead,  of  whatever  sort,  especially 
with  oil,  and  even  in  mixing  it  on  the  palette,  there  arises 
an  odor  that  is  unpleasant  to  many  persons,  and  unwhole- 
some to  all.  It  is  as  well  to  avoid  leaning  too  closely 
over  the  stone  or  palette,  and  to  throw  up  the  window 
during  either  operation. 

The  oxyds  of  lead  are  known  to  blacken  under  cer- 
tain influences ; as  of  sulphuretted-hydrogen  gas,  which 
abounds  in  the  noxious  effluvia  that  at  times  are  generated 
by  certain  manufactures,  by  filth  or  other  causes,  in  the 
heart  of  great  cities,  and  even  in  more  open  places.  Hence 
chemistry  has  employed  herself  in  the  discovery  of  other 
whites  which  should  not  be  liable  to  change.  From 
antimony  and  from  zinc,  whites  have  been  made  which 
have  been  said  to  possess,  with  sufficient  body,  and  great 
beauty,  assured  permanence.  Of  these  we  say  nothing, 
having,  like  M.  Bouvier,  had  no  occasion  to  try  them,  but 
we  add,  that  as  it  will  be  observed,  in  every  painting  that 
has  stood  the  test  of  time,  that  it  is  not  the  white  that  is 
most  discolored,  otherwise  that  as  it  is  the  white  that 
has  stood  best  of  all  the  colors,  there  is  no  reason  for  the 
young  artist  to  have  any  doubt  upon  this  score,  using  un- 
hesitatingly the  Silver  White  as  it  is  prepared  for  him  by 
any  colormen  in  good  repute.  Further  than  this,  what- 
ever may  he  said  of  the  white  of  antimony,  later  and 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


0 


good  authorities  tell  us  that  that  of  zincy  as  well  as  those 
which  have  been  made  from  bismuth  and  from  tin,  want 
body  and  consistence.* 


YELLOWS. 

No.  3.  Naples  Yellow. 

The  only  bright  yellow  that  is  good.-|-  Indispensable 
for  painters  of  landscapes  and  of  flowers.  It  may  be  em- 

* Mr.  Field  assigns  durability  to  Zinc  White,  but  denies  it  to 
the  preparations  of  bismuth  and  antimony,  to  which  he  adds 
quicksilver  and  arsenic,  which  are  of  no  worth,  either  in  water  or 
oil.  Tin  White  v/ants  even  less  body  than  Zinc,  though  it  is 
“ superior  to  it  in  water,”  and  it  dries  badly  in  oil.  Thus  lead  still 
holds  its  ancient  place  of  honor,  and  with  little  risk  of  being  ousted. 

f With  the  exception  of  Mars,  or  Iron,  Yellow  (see  Chapters 
III.  and  IV.)  and  perhaps  of  a Lemon  Yellow,  so  called,  of  which 
we  quote  the  description  from  the  Chromatography,  in  hopes  that 
the  combined  application  of  artists  may  induce  the  colormen  to 
import  it.  Lemon  Yellow  is  of  a beautiful  light  vivid  color.  In 
body  and  opacity  it  is  nearly  equal  to  Naples  Yellow  and  Masticot, 
but  much  more  pure  and  lucid  in  color  and  tint,  and  at  the  same 
time  not  liable  to  change  by  damp,  sulphurous  or  impure  air,  or  by 
the  action  of  light,  oi  by  the  steel  palette-knife,  or  by  mixture  with 
whitelcad  or  other  pigments,  either  in  water  or  oil,  in  each  of  which 
Vehicles  it  works  pleasantly,  and  is  a valuable  addition  to  the  palette 
Lemon  Yellow  is  principally  adapted  to  high  lights  in  painting,  and 
has  a peculiarly  happy  eftect  when  glazed  over  greens  in  both  modes 
of  painting.  In  water  it  exceeds  Gamboge  in  brightness,  and  in  mix- 
ture therewith  improves  its  beauty.  This  mixture  also  goes  readily 
into  od,  &c.”  But  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  Mr.  Field  adds, 
“seve.al  pigments,  not  answering  to  the  character  of  the  present, 
are,  liowever,  vended  under  the  same  denomination,”  and  it  is  for 
this  reason,  and — what  is  to  be  regretted,  as  necessary  to  confidence— 
his  not  giving  its  composition,  that  we  said  above,  perhaps T His 
indications  are  so  few,  it  is  impossible  to  conjecture  (there  are  so 
many  lemon-yellows)  what  ki  id  of  pigment  is  meant ; though  iti 
great  “ body  and  opacity  ” forbid  the  supposition  of  a vegetable  lake 
2* 


10 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


ployed  in  other  works  of  the  art,  the  painter  being  careful, 
however,  not  to  use  it  in  the  lights  of  his  carnations,  Yellow 
Ochre  being  infinitely  better.  Besides,  Naples  Yellow  not 
only  assumes  a greenish  tint,  but  attacks  certain  other 
colors.  But  it  may  be  employed  very  profitably  in  the 
reflexes  of  carnations  on  the  shadow  side.  It  covers  well ; 
and  it  takes  the  place  of  White  in  these  parts,  which  are 
but  little  brilliant,  with  advantage,  because  it  is  rather  less 
opaque,  heavy  and  cold.  It  is  a capital  color,  besides,  for 
touching  the  foliage  of  trees  in  their  broader  lights,  and 
yellow  metals,  as  well  as  for  painting  flowers  and  dra- 
peries bright  yellow. 

It  makes  fine  bright-greens,  on  mingling  it  v/ith  Ultra- 
marine. 

On  account  of  its  composition  (the  oxides  of  lead  and 
antimony),  great  cleanness  is  requisite  in  grinding  or 
mixing  it ; and  the  use  of  the  steel  palette-knife  is  to  be 
avoided,  a horn  or  ivory  spatula  being  substituted.  The 
mingling  of  it  with  native  yellow  ochre,  in  order  to  enli- 
ven the  latter,  as  is  practised  sometimes  v/ith  colormen,  can 
hardly,  we  should  think,  be  accounted  judicious,  though 
it  may  happen  to  be  attended  with  no  ill  results. 

Bouvier,  learned  and  practically  versed  in  every  process 
of  colormaking,  says  that  arsenic  enters  largely  into  its  com- 
position, and  indeed  gives  an  account  of  a process  for  purify- 
.ing  it,  which  he  says  “ is  highly  dangerous,  and  may  even 
become  mortal,  if  one  expose  himself  to  the  arsenious 
fumes  ” emitted  in  the  operation.  Fie  therefore  considers 
this  yellow  as  particularly  inimical  to  whitelead  and 
vermilion.  Other  writers  of  authority  do  not  mention 
this  objection,*  still  less  the  cause  ; and  in  the  multitude 

* “ Used  pure,  or  with  White  Lead,  its  affinity  with  which  gives 
permanency  to  their  tints,  Naples  Yellow  is  a vahiable  and  proved 
color  in  oil.”  I'^ikt,!).  Chromatography. 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


11 


receipts  for  the  manufacture  of  the  pigment,  which  we 
have  examined  in  various  authors,  while  some  of  them 
name  ingredients  that  are  not  included  in  others,  as 
bismuth,  zinc,  &;c.,  we  have  found  no  intimation  of  what 
he  mentions.  It  appears,  however,  that  not  only  the 
modes  of  manufacture  are  various,  but  even  specimens 
from  the  same  laboratory  may  differ,  and  that  being  liable 
lo  injury  from  slight  causes  in  the  manipulation  of  the 
artist,  its  durability  is  generally  questioned,  while  its 
utility  as  a p gment,  even  with  this  drawback,  is  univer- 
sally admitted. 

Naples  Yellow  is  the  Giallolino  of  the  Italian  writers. 
Among  the  old,  Paul  Lomazzo  so  writes  it,  while  Raff. 
Borghini  and  Cenn.  Cennini  have  it  Giallorino. 

No.  4.  Yellow  Ochre.  (Light  Yellow.) 

An  excellent  yellow,  though  so  common.  Good  every- 
where that  one  may  choose  to  employ  it,  it  is  indispensa- 
ble in  carnations.  Its  hue,  rather,  however  faintly,  inclin- 
ed to  the  orange  than  tlie  green,*  and  its  precious 
quality  of  never  attacking  nor  of  being  attacked  by  any 
other  color,  give  a permanency  to  the  purity  of  its  admix- 
tures with  reds  and  whites.  Thus  have  no  fear  of  con- 
sequences, with  whatever  other  pigment  you  may  choose 
to  mix  it. 

It  may.  be  added,  that  it  covers  the  canvas  tolerably 
well,  without  being  heavy. 

No.  5.  Brown  Ochre.  (Dark  Yellow.) 

This  color  replaces  the  preceding  in  all  the  mixtures  of 
shades  that  require  to  be  of  a more  vigorous  tone  than 
could  be  procured  by  No.  4.  It  is  not,  however,  to  be 


There  are  kinds,  however,  in  which  it  is  just  the  reverse. 


12 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


used  for  the  brighter  parts,  whether  of  flesh  or  of  anj 
other  object  which  one  wishes  to  keep  brilliant,  inasmuch 
as  it  has  a tendency  to  grow  darker,  especially  when 
mixed  with  White.  For  every  other  use  it  is  good.  It 
covers  well,  without  being  too  opaque  : mixed  with  Prus- 
sian Blue,  it  makes  very  useful  warm  greens ; and  with 
black  and  a little  Brown-Red,  it  gives  tones  that  are  ex- 
cellent for  backgrounds,  grounds  in  landscape,  furniture, 
dec. 

Roman  Ochre  is  of  the  same  class  of  earths,  scarcely  if 
at  all  different  in  tone  from  the  Ocre  de  Rue,  or  Brown 
Ochre.  What  is  therefore  said  under  this  head,  applies 
to  the  former  equally  well. 

No.  6.  Indian  Yellow. 

Though  a vegetable  extract,  this  yellow  is  nevertheless 
permanent.*  In  beauty  of  color  it  approaches  Gamboge  ; 

* This  is  the  general  opinion  of  the  best  French  authorities. 
(See  for  example,  Chapters  III.  and  IV.)  Field,  however,  says  that 
“ in  oil  it  is  exceedingly  fugitive,  both  alone  and  in  tint.”  This  is 
but  one  of  the  many  discrepancies  that  we  meet  everywhere 
among  writers  on  pigments  In  the  present  case,  however,  it  may 
be  owing  to  a difference  in  the  substance  thus  differently  character- 
ized ; for  the  English  authority  says  it  appears  to  be  a urio-jphos- 
phate  of  lime,  and  is  made  of  the  urine  of  the  camel,  while  the 
French  writers  give  it  as  the  product  of  a large  shrub,  the  meme- 
cylon  tinctorium,  which  origin  Vergnaud  says  that’Merimee  re- 
ceived on  the  faith  of  a naturalist  who  had  travelled  in  India.  And 
we  have  seen  the  same  vegetable  origin  ascribed  to  it  in  a recent 
English  publication,  probably  copying  from  Merimee. 

We  have  thought  it  right  to  lay  this  diflerence  of  opinion  before 
the  student;  and  shall  act,  in  like  manner,  in  all  similar  important 
instances,  for  tlie  result  will  be  to  induce  caution.  For  the  rest, 
Indian  Yellow  came  to  the  French  from  England ; and  as  it  is  said, 
by  those  who  give  it  a vegetable  origin,  to  be  manufactured  in 
Calcutta,  Mr.  Field  could  not  have  been  at  a loss  to  procure  any 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


la 

out  has  the  advantage  over  this  latter,  which  artists  do 
not  consider  good  in  oil.  It  has  also  more  body.  It  is 
ased  only  for  glazing,  or  for  admixture  with  the  ochres  or 
with  Naples  Yellow,  to  heighten  and  enliven  their  color. 

It  should  be  carefully  chosen.  There  are  samples 
whose  color  inclines  to  a greenish  hue.  This  is  useful 
for  glazing  greens  in  landscapes,  and  for  many  other 
things ; but  the  preference  is  to  be  given  to  that  which  is 
of  a golden  yellow,  because  this  may  be  made  of  more 
general  use,  whether  for  greens,  glazings  of  brilliant 
yellow  for  draperies,  flowers,  or  the  like. 

Be  careful  never  to  admit  it  in  your  flesh-tints,  nor 
your  skies  ; its  force  is  such  that  it  would  absorb  the 
other  tints,  and  you  could  not  get  rid  of  it.  But  for  glaz- 
ing over  Ochre  or  Naples  Yellow,  as  we  have  said  (these 

specimens,  and  the  best.  Yet  Bouvier  had  subjected  his  (aud  he 
claims  to  have  been  one  of  the  first  who  used  the  color  on  the  conti- 
nent) to  many  years  of  trial,  in  oil  as  well  as  other  vehicles,  in  every 
situation  of  light  and  shade,  for  this  was  his  invariable  custom  with 
all  pigments  ; and  it  must  be  added  that  Mr.  Field  would  seem  par- 
tially to  contradict  himself,  for,  in  speaking  of  the  madder -yellows, 
and  their  tendency  to  redden,  he  adds,  without  giving  other  proof 
of‘  their  want  of  solidity,  that  they  are  hardly  equal  in  durability 
of  tint  to  Indian  Yellow,  which,  besides  what  is  copied  above,  he 
says  elsewhere,  is  “ soon  destroyed  in  oil,  and  changed  by  time,  &c.” 
For  our  own  part,  it  is  a color  we  never  use,  disliking  it  much  in 
any  shape,  and  we  are  content  to  reconcile  these  conflicting  opi- 
nions, by  citing  what  the  English  chromatographer  himself  has  said 
in  another  place,  that  a color  or  pigment  may  obtain  a false  repute 
for  either  durability  or  fugacity,  by  accidental  preservation  or 
destruction  under  unusually  favorable  or  fatal  circumstances, 
all  of  which  has  been  frequently  witnessed  ; a sentiment  the  truth 
of  which  the  student-artist  will  do  well  to  bear  in  mind,  as  being 
applicable  in  its  principle  to  all  the  materials  of  painting,  includ- 
ing its  vehicles  and  grounds. 


14 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


colors  being  first  quite  dry),  there  is  no  other  yellow 
that  can  replace  it ; and  the  tint  thus  obtained  is  of  great 
beauty. 

Further,  it  is  used,  as  will  be  indicated  presently,  for 
the  modification  of  certain  tones;  mixing  it,  now  with 
ochres,  then  again  with  Prussian  Blue,  sometimes  with 
Lake,  sometimes  with  Ultramarine,  according  to  the  glaz- 
ings or  'preparations  designed  to  be  made. 

Of  several  other  kinds  of  Yellow,  of  which  use  must  net  hi 
made. 

These  are,  1st,  Chrome  Yellow  ; 2dly,  Mineral  YelL^v  ; 
8dly,  the  Yellow  Lakes ; 4thly,  Orpimeni ; Sthly,  those 
lakes  known  by  the  name  of  Pinks,  &:c. 

None  of  these  are  included  in  the  List  of  good  colorc 
given  in  Chapter  I.,  because  they  either  change  the  colors 
they  are  put  in  contact  with,  or  change  themselves,  or 
because  they  are  not  durable. 

Chrome  Yellow  is  a brilliant  and  goWen  yellow,  which 
covers  well,  and  works  admirably ; but  it  is  a color  that 
changes  itself,  and  affects  with  change  all  those  it  is 
united  with.  One  may  venture  to  use  it  for  the  I eightening 
of  certain  yellow  stuffs,  and  the  brilliant  lights  of  gilding, 
provided  it  be  employed  pure,  and  the  color  it  be  laid  on 
shall  have  become  perfectly  dry,  touching  it  with  a free 
pencil.  It  changes  then  much  less.  But  mingle  with  it 
White,  or  Prussian  Blue,  and  it  becomes  frightful.  There- 
fore, all  things  considered,  it  were  better  never  to  make 
use  of  it : the  ochres  are  far  to  be  preferred ; they  never 
alter,  and  if  your  object  is  to  produce  a very  brilliant 
yellow,  you  will  easily  attain  it  by  glazing  them  with  In- 
dian  Yellow,  when  they  are  dry. 

Mineral  Yellow  (also  a chromate  of  lead)  blackens 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


15 


and  changes  other  colors.'  It  is  besides  quite  super- 
fluous.  (See  Chapter  IV.  for  ether  yellow  pigments 
which  go  under  the  same  name.) 

The  Yellow  Lakes  are  not  solid : they  all  lose  more  or 
less  their  color.  Even  those  of  madder,  which  may  be 
classed  with  them,  have  been  found  quite  changeable. 
Antwerp  Lake  does  not  pale,  but  it  loses  its  yellow  hue, 
and  becomes  brownish,  on  exposure  to  the  air  or  sun. 

All  the  Orpiments  are  dangerous  and  bad,  because  they 
contain  much  arsenic,  which  destroys  every  other  color. 

As  to  the  lakes  known  to  the  French  as  Sills  de  grain, 
with  us  and  the  English,  as  Pinks,  they  have  no  solidity, 
and  their  place  is  besides  easily  supplied  by  other  pigments 
quite  as  beautiful,  and  not  so  false.  They  are  banished 
even  from  miniature-painting. 

Note.  In  miniature  and  aquarel.  Chrome  Yellow  may 
be  used  with  safety,  according  to  Bouvier ; but  Constant- 
Viguier  proscribes  it  for  miniature.  It  undergoes 
no  sensible  change,  when  the  vehicle  is  gum-water ; but 
even  then,  it  is  to  be  used  only  for  backgrounds  and  cer- 
tain draperies,  the  artist  being  careful  not  to  put  his  pencil 
to  his  lips,  no  more  than  when  he  uses  Orpiment,  mineral 
whites,  or  Naples  Yellow.  These  are  all  poisonous.  Yet 
Orpiment  is  the  most  fatal ; and  it  is  on  this  account  that 
Chrome  Yellow  has  taken  its  place  in  water-colors ; for 
its  solidity,  notwithstanding  Bouvier  and  others,  is  denied 
even  there. 


To  this  list  of  Yellows,  in  order  with  what  follows 
in  the  subsequent  three  chapters,  to  make  it  com- 
plete, we  may  add  the  yellows  of  platina,  which  are 
preparations  of  Mr.  Field’s,  who  says  they  are  “ perma- 
nent  both  in  water  and  oil,  lolien  corefully  prepared  ; but 


16 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTIKG. 


any  portion  of  palladium  in  the  metal  from  which  they  are 
prepared  neutralizes  their  color ^ and  renders  them  useless.** 
The  color  of  the  sample  we  have  tried  and  which  we  are 
now  subjecting  to  the  usual  proofs,  is  warm,  rich,  and  of 
considerable  body. 


REDS. 

No.  7..  Light-Red. 

This  is  simply  Yellow  Ochre  calcined ; though  there 
is  a red  ochre  that  is  native,  and  which  M.  Bouvier  says 
is  brighter,  and  has  his  preference ; however,  in  another 
place  he  objects  to  it,  that  it  is  more  or  less  stony.  The 
brighter  the  yellow  ochre,  the  brighter  and  better  is  its 
calcination. 

Light-Red  is  not  near  so  brilliant  as  Vermilion  ; but 
in  many  cases  is  greatly  preferable,  being  less  harsh  to 
the  eye,  and  more  harmonious  in  certain  combinations, 
whether  in  carnations,  or  in  draperies  and  in  landscape,  or 
other  dull  tints.  Add  to  this  the  inestimable  value  of  its 
undergoing  no  change,  and  of  causing  none ; and  that  in 
male  complexions  it  replaces  Vermilion  advantageously 
in  all  the  local  flesh-tints,  and  we  have  named  a color  of 
much  value. 

No.  8,  Brown-Red j or  Deep  Red-Brown. 

It  is  found  native  ; but  is  obtained  also  by  calcining  the 
ochre  or  ochres.  No.  5.  A very  vigorous  color,  it  must 
be  employed  discreetly,  for  its  intensity  increases  in  oil, 
and  its  energy  makes  it  easily  overpower  its  allies. 
Therefore,  do  not  em])loy  it  in  any  clear  and  bright  part, 
especially  not  in  the  lights  of  carnations,  nor  even  in  the 
lighter  shadows.  Reserve  it  for  all  your  dark  and  vigor, 
ous  shades  and  touches,  particularly  those  of  the  nostrils, 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


17 


and  of  the  mouth  (adding  thereto  a great  deal  of  deep 
crimson  lake),  as  well  as  for  the  strongest  shadows, 
mixed  with  Roman  Ochre,  and  intense  Ultramarine,  with  a 
third  of  the  best  blue-black  to  finish  the  flesh. 

It  is  good  for  many  other  cases,  too  long  to  enumerate, 
as  in  draperies  of  a dusky  red  or  brown,  and  even  in  the 
shadows  of  bright-red  drapery,  adding-in  sometimes  Ver- 
milion, sometimes  Madder-Lake,  according  to  circum- 
stances. This  detail  will  be  further  extended  when  we 
come  to  treat  of  the  First-Palette  or  Deadcoloring,  and  also 
of  finishing. 

No.  9.  Vermilion  or  Cinnabar. 

Of  European  manufacture,  the  fine  vermilion  that  is 
sold  at  our  principal  colorshops  is  the  French,  though 
Bouvier  and  other  French  writers  speak  of  the  Dutch 
as  the  best : perhaps  they  are  the  same,  or  that  the  fabri- 
cation is  only  very  recent  in  France.  However,  Vermil. 
ion  is  also  made  abundantly  in  England,  and  other  parts 
of  Europe.  That  which  is  too  brilliant  and  with  a slightly 
orange  cast,  is  not  to  be  trusted,  for  it  is  probably  adul- 
terated with  redlead  or  minium  (oxyd  of  lead  highly 
calcined),  which  of  itself  blackens  when  employed  with 
oil,  and  causes  equally  to  blacken  the  vermilion  (com- 
posed of  sulphur  and  mercury),  to  which  it  is  added.  The 
application  of  muriatic  acid  will  betray  the  adulteration 
by  fading  the  color,  which  is  not  the  result  with  pure 
vermilions  ; and  should  it  have  been  brightened  with 
Iodine- Scarlet,  a new  and  beautiful  preparation  of  mer- 
cury, highly  dangerous  as  a pigment,  the  artifice  will  be 
detected  in  like  manner,  by  the  application  of  alkalies. 

There  is  also  a native  cinnabar which  is  found  in  the 

• Cinnabar,  aftei  the  Greek,  is  the  name  properly  given  to 


18 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


quicksilver-mines.  Externally  it  is  not  of  a fine  red  ; 
but  on  breaking  it,  it  shows  a beautiful  color.  This  we 
can  depend  upon  not  being  falsified ; but  Bouvier  thought 
he  found  it  blacken  more  than  the  prepared  Vermilion 
(Dutch)  of  the  shops,  and  others  coincide  with  him.  It 
produces  a very  agreeable  effect,  for  the  fresh  parte  of 
carnations,  when  mixed  with  White  for  the  rose-tint,  with 
the  addition  of  Yellow  Ochre  for  the  local  flesh-tints. 

In  sketching  or  deadcoloring,  we  must  never  put  Lake 
lowered  with  White  into  the  flesh,  however  fresh  the  com- 
plexion we  desire  to  represent ; this  admixture  becomes  too 
cold:  Vermilion  is  to  be  preferred. 

Chinese  Vermilion  is  of  a color  approaching  more  to 
Carmine,  than  that  of  Europe.  It  is  preferred  for  the  fresh 
rose-tints,  mixing  it  with  White,  and  for  all  the  lilac-tints 
of  very  fine  complexions.  It  might  in  fact  be  dispensed 
with  ; yet  it  is  convenient  enough  to  have  it  for  certain  drap- 
eries of  a red  somewhat  approaching  the  hue  of  Carmine  : 
it  is  very  beautiful,  mixed  or  glazed  with  Rose  or  Crim- 
son Lake.  It  gives  also  a rose  less  cold  than  pure 
Lake,  and  less  yellow  than  the  French  Vermilion,  either 
being  mixed  wdth  White.  It  rests  with  the  artist  to  use  it 
with  discernment,  not  lavishing  it  everywhere  indifferently, 
otherwise  he  would  fall  into  coldness  and  a vinous  hue. 
Certain  it  is,  that  the  vermilion  of  Europe  is  far  better  to 
compose  the  local  flesh-tints,  mixing  it  with  White  and 
with  Yellow  Ochre  : the  tint  it  produces  is  more  luminous. 

Finally,  Yermilion  cannot  be  replaced  by  any  other 
analogous  red,  especially  in  oilpainting;  for  Light-Red 
would  not  make  the  tints  fresh  enough  for  the  fine  carna- 

Vermilion  in  the  mass,  the  levigated  alone  beari.ig  the  latter  name 
The  distinction,  how'cver,  is  seldom  maintained. 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


19 


lions  of  women  and  children,  nor  even  for  those  of  many 
men. 

Note.  Though  Vermilion  is  to  be  found  at  the  color- 
men’s  already  prepared,  in  tubes  (much  is  imported  so 
from  the  colorshops  of  England),  yet  both  kinds  come  to  us 
more  usually  in  the  preferable  form  of  a dry  impalpable  pow- 
der, done  up  in  small  paper  parcels.  It  is  sufficient  to  rub 
them  with  the  oil,  by  means  cf  the  palette-knife  simply,  as 
you  have  occasion,  being  careful  to  use  of  the  oil  the  least 
possible.  They  are  bad  driers,  as  we  have  indicated  in 
the  List,  and  will  keep  moist  on  the  palette  many  days. 

Beside  the  test  we  have  indicated  on  the  preceding 
page,  there  are  others  mentioned  in  different  writers,  the 
simplest  of  which  appears  to  be  a red  heat,  which  will 
entirely  decompose  and  dissipate  the  true  pigment 

No.  10.  Madder-Lakes. 

It  is  of  little  use  at  the  present  day,  when  these  lakes 
are  fully  tested  and  well  known,  to  dilate  upon  their  char- 
acter. Suffice  it,  they  are  found  at  the  colorman’s  from 
the  palest  rose  up  to  deep  purple,  and  where  pure  may 
be  relied  on  for  permanence,  whether  used  in  oil  or  gum- 
water.  Their  beauty  is  of  the  richest  kind. 

In  purchasing  the  Pale  Rose,  or  the  Rose,  the  young 
artist  must  not  be  disappointed  or  deceived  by  its  faint  tint, 
as  seen  dry  in  its  form  of  small  irregular  grains  about  the 
size  of  a half-grown  pea  and  under.  With  the  addition 
of  oil,  the  color  at  once  appears  in  the  desired  lustre  and 
intensity.  So  it  is  with  the  other  kinds  of  a deeper  tone, 
all  of  which  will  be  found  at  the  colorshops,  rising  in  price 
according  to  the  intensity  of  hue. 

When  used,  a portion  of  the  dry  color  is  to  be  put  upon 
m slab  of  ground  glass  (such  as  of  various  sizes  is  to  bo 


20 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


found  at  the  same  warerooms),  and  crushed  with  the 
muller ; a few  drops  of  poppy-oil  being  then  added,  the 
color  is  made  up  into  a thick  paste-like  mass,  and  is 
to  be  thinned  with  one  third  of  drying-oil,  as  it  is  wanted  ; 
for,  in  this  form  of  a wet  paste,  it  will  remain  serviceable 
on  the  palette  for  many  days,  care  being  taken  to  place 
over  it  some  convenient  vessel,  as  a wineglass  or  small 
cup,  which  excludes  the  dust  as  well  as  air.  In  mixing  the 
lakes  with  other  colors  which  dry  slowly,  the  same  method 
will  be  found  serviceable ; we  mean,  of  having  the  pre- 
pared mass  as  stiff  as  possible,  and  adding  the  drying-oil 
as  it  is  wanted. 

Of  course  the  adulteration  of  these  lakes  is  easy  ; but 
the  test  is  as  easy  too ; to  wit,  liquid  ammonia  or  caustic 
potash,  which  will  not  affect  the  madder,  but  will  dissolve 
the  coloring-matter  of  cochineal,  &c.  At  the  French 
colorman’s  you  will  see  these  lakes  labelled  Smyrne 
Lakes.  This  is,  because  the  best  and  most  costly  madder 
came  to  France  from  Smyrna.  The  name  rests,  but  as  is 
the  case  with  certain  wines,  it  probably  has  little  business 
there. 

No.  11.  Burnt  Carmine,  or  Burnt  Venetian  Lake. 

This  color  is  remarkable  for  its  vigor,  and  is  prepared 
like  the  Brown  of  Prussian  Blue,  by  the  artist  himself. 
He  is  to  select  for  this  purpose  a lake  of  deep  tone  without 
being  violet.  Venetian  Lake  is  good  if  it  do  not  change 
to  a violet  with  alkalies,  or  become  yellowish  in  vinegar. 
It  is  only  certnin  lakes,  however,  which  are  made  of 
cochineal*  like  Venice  Lake,  that  on  calcination  will  give 

■*  Florence,  Roman,  Hamburgh,  all  these  lakes,  as  well  as  the 
Venetian,  are  of  cochineal,  and  of  course  are  all  fugacious.  Nor 
even  Burnt  arc  they  (notwithstanding  the  reasonable  admiration  of 
Bouvier)  to  be  at  all  relied  on.  Scarlet  Lake  is  also  a preparation 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


21 


the  color  desired.  The  lakes  of  madder  are  of  io  use 
tor  this  purpose.  In  default  of  Venice  Lake,  the  best 
Carmine  may  be  taken. 

The  process  of  calcination  we  will  describe  in  its  place 
(Chapter  V.)  The  color  obtained  (which  is  said  to  have 
the  solidity  this  pigment  is  known  to  want  in  its  raw  state), 
can  be  compared  only  to  that  of  the  Purple  of  Cissius, 
or  to  the  rich  color  of  deep-purple  viclets.  Vithout 
appearing  black,  its  profundity  of  tone  is  quite  as  great 
(says  Bouvier).  It  is  of  great  use,  either  in  the  most 
vigorous  parts  of  a purple,  or  violet,  or  brown  draj  cry,  or 
in  the  hollow  of  the  nostrils,  the  interior  of  the  mov  th,  and 
other  deep  clefts.  It  may  be  mixed  in  great  variety,  v/hether 
with  Asphaltum,  or  the  Composite  Brown,  No  24,  or 
with  Sienna  Earths,  or  the  Prussian  Brown,  No.  1:9,  or  to 
give  vigor  to  the  Brown-Red,  No.  8,  or  to  Engb'sh  Red, 
No.  12 ; but  it  is  not  to  be  used  to  excess ; we  must 
reserve  this  immense  resource  for  the  last  vigorous 
touches  in  all  the  parts  which  require  it,  and  where  the 
mixture  of  black  with  the  lakes  would  deprive  them  of 
transparency.  It  may  be  used  with  advantage,  likewise, 
in  purple  or  deep- violet  velvet-like  flowers. 

Notwithstanding  the  value  of  this  auxiliary  to  the  mad- 
der-lakes, which  derive  from  it  the  force  they  are  ac<5used 
of  wanting,  very  few  painters  in  oil  make  use  of  it; 
Burnt  Carmine  is  scarcely  known  except  by  miniature- 
painters.  Finally,  we  repeat,  it  is  not  every  lake  of 
cochineal,  nor  every  trial  that  will  give  this  desirable 


of  cochineal,  and  very  similar  to  the  Florentine  Indian  LaJce  is 
but  another  name  for  Lac-Lake,  the  most  durable  perhaps  of  thessi 
animal-substances,  so  to  speak,  but  still  not  to  be  regarded  as  p-v 
manent. 


22 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


intense  purple ; experiments  must  often  be  repeated  by 
the  artist,  till  he  succeeds.* 

No.  12.  English  Red. 

This  pigment  works  easily,  dries  quite  well,  and  is  of  a 
color  more  lively  and  less  yellowish  than  the  deep-red 
ochre.  No.  6.  Tt  is  good  in  red  draperies,  for  the  shades ; 
mixed  with  Lake,  or  pure,  according  to  the  tint  of  the 
drapery.  There  are  other  occasions  where  its  color, 
lively  and  poweiful,  rrry  be  proper  ; but  one  must  be  very 
sparing  of  its  use,  particularly  in  flesh,  and  not  make  it  a 
substitute  in  mixtures  for  the  brown-reds,  7 and  8 ; 
because  it  is  so  powerful,  that  its  management  is  difficult, 
tinging  everything  red. 

Seeing  this  propert}',  and  that  it  is  a color  which  may 
he  easily  dispensed  with,  No.  8 supplying  its  place,  it  need 
be  only  mixed  as  it  is  wanted,  in  rare  cases. 

* In  view  of  the  at  least  questionable  durability  of  Burnt  Lake 
of  Cochineal,  we  subjoin  from  the  Chromatography  the  following 
accourrt  of  a reliable  pigment  of  similar  color  : — 

“ Madder  Purple,  Purple  Rubiate,  or  Field's  Purple,  is  a very 
rich  and  deep  carmine  prepared  from  madder.  Though  not  a bril- 
liant purple,  its  richness,  durability,  transparency,  and  superiority 
of  color  have  given  it  the  preference  to  the  Purple  of  Gold,  and  to 
Burnt  Carmine.  It  is  a pigment  of  great  body  and  intensity ; it 
works  well,  dries  and  glazes  well  in  oil,  and  is  pure  and  permanent 
in  its  tints.  It  neither  gives  nor  sustains  injury  from  other  colors, 
and  is  in  every  respect  a very  perfect  and  eligible  pigment.” 

This  preparation  of  madder  is  not  in  our  colorshops  that  we 
know  of  (the  French  Concentrated  Purple  of  madder  being  of  a 
brilliant  color  not  answering  to  the  description  nor  the  requisitions), 
but  it  ought  to  be,  with  all  of  Field’s  colors.  Indeed  as  to  mad- 
der-pigments, we  have  good  reason  to  suspect  (from  the  test)  that 
few  or  any  ever  reach  us  from  Paris,  that  are  not  sophisticated ; and 
Mr.  Field  says  that  tlie  brightest  of  the  laques  de  garance  which 
he  examined  was  tinged  with  the  rouge  of  the  safflower,  and  of 
course  had  not  the  durability  of  the  genuine  Madder-Lake 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


23 


Employed  pure,  the  disadvantage  just  mentioned  does 
not  exist,  or  when  it  is  mixed  with  a fine  deep  lake  for 
the  darker  folds  of  red  or  crimson  draperies,  or  for  the 
strongest  touches  of  the  nostrils,  mouth,  &c. 

Venetian  Red,  Prussian  Bed,  &c.,  are  the  same  ochre  (see 
Chapter  IV.);  though  true  Venetian  Red,  i.  e.  of  the  Vene- 
tians, was  probably  brought  from  India,  and  similar  to  the 
Indian  Red,  so  well  known,  and  v/h:ch  holds  the  pR.ce  with 
English  writers  that  the  French  assign  to  the  English 
Red,  Indian  Red  is  u^svally  more  of  a purplish  hue  than 
the  red  here  described ; but  it  is  of  the  same  properties, 
and  all  that  is  said  above  aoplies  to  it  equally  well.  It 
has  always  been  a great  favorite  with  English  artists, 
with  whom  it  has  sometimes  borne  the  name  of  Persian 
Red.  Of  the  different  tints  or  shades,  that  which  is 
most  roseate  is  considered  best. 

BLJES. 

No.  13.  Ultramarine. 

There  are  really,  as  Bcuvier  says,  but  two  good  blues  for 
oilpainting  ; to  wit.  Ultramarine  and  Prussian  Blue.  We 
have,  however,  indicated,  according  to  his  list,  two  others 
of  which  use  may  be  made  on  occasion, — Smalt,  and  The- 
nard’s  Blue  or  Cobalt-Blue. 

Ultramarine  is  the  color  Kar  by  excellence  or  pre- 

eminence ; for  as  no  other  pigment  approaches  it  in  beau- 
ty, so  there  is  none  that  matches  it  in  durability ; for  fire, 
which  will  alter  all  others,  has  no  effect  on  this  invaluable 
material  of  our  art.  The  history  of  this  precious  color  is 
too  well  known,  that  we  should  expend  space  upon  its 
details ; suffice  it  to  indicate,  what  may  not  readily  occur 
to  the  young  artist,  that  its  familiar  and  inexpressive 
name  simply  marks  its  Oriental  origin : Oltramarino, 


24 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


UltramarinOy  Outremer,  Ultramarine  (the  Germans  sa^ 
likewise,  Ultramarin),  are  mere  terms  indicating  its  com 
ing  from  heyond  the  sea. 

Precious  in  quality  above  all  other  pigments,  the  Ultra- 
marine  is  beyond  all  others  liigh  in  price : hence  it  was 
an  object  with  the  French  government  to  propose,  as  it 
did,  a reward  of  6000  francs  to  whoever  should  discover  a 
composition,  that  combining  b.11  the  eleme'^ts  of  the  blue  of 
the  lazulite,  might  safel}'’  replace  it.  This  was  done  by 
M.  Guimet,  whose  factitious  uUrr.marine,  unchangeable 
by  the  air,  or  by  f.re,  is  now  the  kind  that  is  sold  at  the 
colorshops  everywhere  for  the  original  pigment, — except 
the  true  mineral  color  be  of  course  expressly  ordered  and 
paid  for  at  its  exorbitant  pr.ce,  which,  greatly  lessened 
as  it  is  from  what  it  once  brought,  is  even  now  at  Rome, 
where  it  is  cheapest,  $20  the  ounce,  whereas  the  ultra- 
marine  of  Guimet  is  afforded  at  $5.  This  difference  alone, 
for  obvious  reasons,  makes  the  d’‘scovery  of  Guimet  inesti- 
mahle.  It  should  have  borne  everywhere  the  name  of  the 
inventor,  but  custom  has  decided  against  this  deserved 
perpetuity  of  honor. 

As  with  the  original  color,  this  ultramarine  is  of  differ- 
ent degrees  of  intensity,  which  are  designated  by  number, 
the  first  being  the  deepest. 

Could  one  find  any  fault  with  Ultramarine,  says  Bou- 
vier  (speaking  of  the  genuine  or  lazulite  blue),  it  would 
be  that,  used  with  oil,  it  gains  intensity  in  proportion  to 
the  age  of  the  picture,  rather  than  loses  the  least  part  of 
its  brilliancy  and  force  ; so  that  we  should  rather  feai 
excess  than  otherwise  in  its  employment,  especially  in 
skies  and  in  the  soft  demi-tints  of  carnations , &:c. 

We  may  add  to  this  observation,  that  considering  the 
permanency  of  its  character,  it  will  in  general  be  necessa- 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


23 


ry  to  break  its  brilliancy  by  some  admixture,  because, 
where  used  pure,  the  other  colors  that  neighbor  it  chang- 
ing in  time  their  character,  the  harmony  of  the  fresh  pic*^ 
ture  will  no  longer  be  preserved,  but  a discordancy  of  tono 
be  apparent. 


No.  14.  Prussian  Blue. 

According  to  the  experience  of  our  Genevan  artist, 
the  best  Prussian  Blue,  when  used  with  gum-^vat8^ 
simply,  has  stood  the  test  of  thirty  years’  exposure  to  the 
full  glare  of  day,  and  even  of  a summer’s  sun.  Through 
all  this  lapse  of  time,  it  underwent  no  sensible  alteration, 
though  mixed  with  Krems  White,  as  well  as  with  ochres, 
reds,  and  divers  other  colors.  When  mixed,  however, 
with  Vermilion,  it  was  somewhat  changed ; but  even  this 
change  took  place  only  after  many  years.  From  all  of 
which  he  concludes  that  a prussian-blue  of  good  quality 
is  all  but  unalterable  as  a watercolor.  Employed  with 
oil,  the  result  was  not  so  satisfactory  ; it  took  a greenish 
or  a reddish  cast ; but  always  very  lightly,  when  a good 
fabric,  compared  with  what  was  the  result  with  ordinary 
specimens. 

It  is  not  the  less  a very  valuable  pigment,  even  for  oil- 
painting,  because  it  makes,  when  mixed  with  different  5'’el- 
lows,  greens  of  a charming  shade  ; and  even  employed  witli 
White,  and  corrected  by  Lake,  by  Black,  or  by  Red  Ochre, 
it  may  render  the  greatest  service.  But  it  must  not  be 
employed  pure  with  an  admixture  merely  of  White : its 
tint  has  something  extremely  harsh  and  hard,  that  is  in 
harmony  with  no  other  color. 

Let  us  add,  that  all  the  alkalies  attack  this  color.  It  is 
therefore  not  to  be  employed  with  those  pigments  which 
nave  any  in  their  composition. 

3 


2(5 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


No.  15.  Smalt. 

This  pigment,  whose  hue  approaches  that  of  Ultrafnailntt, 
ar.d  is  very  durable,  is  a glass  colored  by  pure  cobalt.  It 
is  difScalt,  from  its  great  hardness,  to  reduce  it  to  powder, 
and  consequently,  however  fine  it  may  be  had  at  the  color, 
shops,  it  is  always  to  a certain  degree  coarse  as  a powder, 
resembling  a fine  and  moist  sand.  Bouvier,  who  drew  his 
Oiimpies  T'omBale,  gives  it  even  singular  desiccative  pro- 
perties j while  his  countryman,  Tingry,  a distinguished 
chemist,  assigns  to  it  directly  the  opposite  character. 
Again,  another  Swiss  artist,  a friend  of  Bouvier’s  (Mr. 
Toepffer),  assured  him  that  he  found  Smalt  to  combine 
so  badly  with  oil,  that  in  time,  when  removing  an  old 
varnish,  he  found  it  detach  from  the  canvas,  v.n  objection 
which  ^ouvier  himself  had  never  reason  to  attribute  to  it. 
From  onr  own  experience  we  can  say  nothing,  for  we  do 
not  like  ii,  and  find  it  as  a color  altoge"’  er  superfluous. 
We  may  ;.dd,  that  while  the  very  nature  of  its  composition 
shows  the  plausibility  of  the  few  objections  made  to  it, 
Smalt  is  so  cheap  a pigment,  that  experiments  with  it 
can  be  readily  made  by  the  young  artist,  and  to  any 
extent,  without  subjecting  him  to  loss. 

No.  16.  Cobalt,  or  Thenard^s  Blue. 

This  fine  color  appears  under  both  these  names ; or  rather, 
Thenard’s  Blue  may  be  classed,  along  with  some  others,  as 
one  (and  it  is  the  best)  of  the  blues  of  cobalt ; and  indeed 
we  observe  that,  at  the  shops.  Cobalt  and  Thenard’s  Blue 
are  made  to  be  distinct  pigments,  being  kept  in  separate 
bottles,  differently  labelled.  Bourgeois,  in  his  edition  of 
Watin,  has  made  an  objection  to  this  blue,  that  is  copied 
oy  most  or  all  of  the  subsequent  writers  on  colors,  to  wit, 
that  by  candle-light  it  has  a violet  tint.  He  ranks  it.  how- 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


27 


ever,  in  permanency,  nexf,  to  Ultramarine,  and  before 
Prussian  Blue. 

The  ultramarine  of  Guimet,  by  its  comparatively  mode, 
rate  price  has  made  us  tliink  this  color  a superfluity  in 
the  box  of  an  artist  who  would  confine  himself  discreetly 
to  the  use  of  as  few  varieties  as  possible  ; and  though  es- 
chewing the  venture  of  any  advice  of  our  own  to  the  young 
painter,  composing  as  we  do  this  compend  almost  altogether 
from  the  popular  work  of  one  established  writer  on  the  art, 
v/e  may  remark  that  with  good  Prussian  Blue  (for  special 
uses)  and  Ultramarine  for  others,  the  amateur  or  professed 
painter  is  sufficiently  provided.*  We  pass  now  to  the 

BROWNS. 

No.  17.  Sienna-Earth,  raw. 

A nne  yellowish  brown,  transparent,  and  quite  solid,  but 
darkening  by  lime  (the  burnt  color  as  well  as  the  raio). 
This  disadvantage  is  still  more  apparent,  and  more  im- 
mediate, when  they  are  allied  with  certain  metallic  colors, 
as  with  White.  The  Brown  from  Prussian  Blue,  which  is 
equally  transparent,  according  to  Bouvier,  and  has  not 

* Since  this  was  written  there  has  appeared  at  the  colorshops  a 
very  beautiful  blue,  under  the  attractive  name  of  Permanent  Blue. 
Its  nature  or  composition  we  do  not  know,  nor  any  of  its  propeidies 
saving  its  beauty.  It  is  used  in  oil. — Mr.  Field  mentions  a blue 
phosphate  of  iron  found  with  the  iron  pyrites  in  Cornwall  and  here 
in  JVorth  America,  and  which  goes  by  the  very  proper  name  of 
Blue  Ochre,  and  also  by  the  absurd  designation  of  JSTative  Prussian- 
Blue.  Of  perfect  solidity,  with  the  body  of  the  other  ochres,  but 
more  transparent,  working  well  and  drying  readily,  it  is  certainly 
worthy  of  being  brought  into  more  notice,  though  like  ochres  of  othejr 
hues  its  color  is  rather  modest  than  brilliant.  If  not  easily  pro* 
cured,  it  is  still  procurable,  and  we  hope  will  be  soon  found. 


28 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


this  tendency  to  blacken,  and  moreover  dries  more  readily. 
IS  to  be  preferred,  as  well  as  several  other  browns,  to  Raw 
Sienna. 


No.  18.  Sienna-Earth,  calcined. 

With  the  precaution  to  be  observed  against  excessive 
use  and  remembering  its  tendency  to  darken,  especially 
when  mixed  with  White,  Bt.  Sienna  is  a valuable  color, 
light,  transparent,  and  warm,  and  not  easily  replaced  by 
others.  Its  power  is  such,  that  however  small  the  quantity 
one  employs  in  admixture,  it  absorbs  all  those  with  which 
it  is  combined.  It  is  therefore,  we  repeat,  to  be  used  with 
discretion,  either  to  give  warmth  to  a tint  which  in  the 
sketch  is  found  too  gray  or  cold,  and  then  it  is  to  be  used 
only  as  a glazing,  or  mixed  with  intense  lakes  and  intense 
ultramarine  for  the  more  vigorous  touches  of  shade  in  car- 
nations. Let  us  say  in  general,  that  it  is  little  proper  for 
aught  but  glazing  and  preparations  (of  which  we  shall 
speak  in  their  place)  ; for  example,  for  glazing  trees  that 
have  put  on  the  ruddy  tint  of  autumn,  or  for  the  vigor- 
ous parts  of  foregrounds,  for  glazings  of  orange-yellow 
draperies,  or  brown  draperies  upon  the  shadow- side,  for 
furniture  of  mahogany,  &c.  ; in  a word,  everywhere  where 
one  would  have  the  tone  warm,  vigorous,  and  powerful : 
but  it  is  of  such  strength  of  hue  that  it  brings  nearer  to  the 
eye  every  object  that  is  glazed  with  it ; so  that  one  must 
have  care  never  to  use  it  except  in  the  foreparts  of  a pic- 
ture, which  are  supposed  to  be  nearest  the  eye  of  the  spec- 
tator. 

As  this  fine  color  becomes  darker  by  time,  it  is  advisable 
to  employ  rather  less  than  the  object  on  which  we  use  it, 
oi  the  part,  would  seem  to  require. 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


29 


No.  19.  Brown  of  Prussian  Blue. 

A color  which  the  painter  manufactures  himself,  it  not 
being  kept  at  the  colorshops.  The  discovery  of  this  vch 
uable  pigment  is  due  to  Mr.  ToepfFer,  v/ho  ccm.municated 
it  to  Bouvier,  by  whom  it  has  been  made  public.  A prus- 
sian-blue  is  to  be  chosen  of  a shade  moderately  dark,  the 
most  intense  not  answering  (giviny  ti  heavy  and  opaque 
color,  of  a brownish-red),  neither  these  of  an  opposite  ex- 
treme, nor  too  bright  a blue  (the  color  xiiade  from  these 
being  feeble  and  too  yellow).  Further  than  this,  M. 
Bouvier  confines  the  choice  to  the  French  prussivn-blue  ^ 
the  English  (which  as  a Hue  he  invariably  prefers)  being,  cf 
whatever  quality,  only  adapted  for  the  formation,  by  tins  pro- 
cess, of  the  color  No.  20.  Merimee,  who  published  aftei 
Bouvier,  says  that  the  English  sort  contains  but  little  oT 
alumin  (which  is  essential  to  a true  result  of  the  pro=. 
cess).  The  process,  which  is  very  simple,  will  be  describ- 
ed in  its  place.  The  color  produced  is  that  of  Bistre,  ac- 
cording to  Bouvier  : the  experiments  which  we  have  made 
did  not  give  this  result  precisely  (perhaps  from  our  not 
having  the  right  Blue),  but  it  was  otherwise  highly  satisfacto- 
ry, producing  several  shades  of  color,  which  we  would 
not  willingly,  now  we  know  them,  be  without,  as  we  are 
assured  by  this  writer  of  their  stability.  The  transparence 
ascribed  to  it  by  M.  Bouvier  we  have  to  add,  we  did  not 
find,  in  any  of  our  samples,  to  be  quite  comparable  to  that 
of  Asphaltum,  to  which  he  equals  it,  yet  it  is  certainly  con- 
siderable. With  these  observations,  adding  that  Be  Monta- 
hert  falls  quite  into  a rapture  in  describing  its  qualities,  we 
will  give  Bouvier’s  account  of  its  properties  somewhat  in 
detail. 

“ I cannot,”  he  says,  “ commend  too  highly  the  use  of 
this  charming  bistre-tint;  it  has  the  advantages  united  of 


30 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


AsjihaUum,  of  Mummy,  of  raw  Sienna,  witliout  their  d'sad- 
vantages.  It  is  as  beautiful  and  good  in  water  as  in  oil  ; 
it  undergoes  no  change ; is  of  a perfect  transparence,  of 
a most  liarmonious  tone ; combines  with  any  other  color 
without  disadvantage,  and  besides  all  this,  it  dries  well,  and 
better  than  any  other  cf  those  colors  which  are  suitable  for 
glazings  and  p/eparaticns.  It  closely  resembles  Asphaltum 
in  tint,  as  well  as  in  transparency  ; so  that  it  is  preferable 
to  it  in  every  point  cf  view.”  He  assures  us  that  he  has 
prdntiaos,  executed  for  more  than  twenty-three  years,  in 
■which  i^e  has  made  a great  use  of  this  color  in  glazing,  both 
p'^re,  and  mixed  with  lakes,  Prussian  Blue,  or  Ultrama- 
r’.ne,  and  that  they  have  undergone  not  the  least  change, 
it  is  a color  that  works  well,  and  there  is  no  need  of  drying- 
oil,  or  at  least  of  very  little,  in  employing  it ; which  is  in 
itself  an  advantage,  since  we  thereby  avoid  the  blackening 
as  well  as  incrustation  of  color  which  is  the  consequence 
of  the  too  free  use  of  that  vehicle. 

It  must  be  observed  however  that  like  all  diaphanous  colors, 
this  brown  is  only  suitable  for  glazing,  or  for  the  substra- 
tum, so  to  speak,  of  preparations  (glazings  for  retouching) 
for  it  will  not  cover  the  canvas  at  all. 

No.  20.  Another  Brown,  made  with  the  English 
Prussian- B lue . 

The  color  of  this  calcination  is  an  orange-red,  very  little 
used.  Bouvier  obtained  it  in  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to 
make  the  preceding  No.  It  is  nearly  of  the  color  of 
Italian  Earth  (raw),  but  has  the  advantage  of  not  black- 
ening, like  that  bituminous  substance.  It  dries  tolerably 
well,  is  permanent,  yet  quite  transparent,  producing  still 
finer  glazings  than  Bt.  Sienna  (which  besides  blackens,  as 
we  have  seen).  It  somewhat  resembles  Roman  Ochre, 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


31 


but  is  more  lively  and  redder,  and  a fine  color,  and  so  soft 
as  scarcely  to  need  grinding.  It  is  in  fact  itse'.f  a //vv-re 
ochre  made  of  the  ferruginous'*'  part  of  Prussian  and 
may  be  recommended  to  those  who  paini  very  small  works 
and  are  very  particular  to  have  their  colors  pure ; but  for 
large  paintings  it  would  be  too  costly,  because  of  the  very 
small  quantity  which  is  got  from  the  large  quantity  of  the 
Blue  which  it  is  necessary  to  calcine. 

No.  21.  Asphaltwn. 

What  we  have  already  said  of  Asphalt  is  no  reason  for 
excluding  it  from  the  list  of  good  colors : it  is  excellent  for 
glazing,  because  of  its  fine  bistre-tint,  its  perfect  transpa- 
rence, and  the  facility  which  the  extreme  divisibility  of  its 
particles  affords  of  spreading  it  as  thin  as  can  be  desired. 
It  mixes  well  besides  with  all  other  colors,  so  that  you  can 
give  it  the  precise  hue  you  wish  ; but  it  has  the  inconve- 
nience of  blackening,  which  arises  in  the  first  place  from 
Jts  bituminous  nature,  and  secondly  from  the  necessity  of 
using  with  it  drying-oil  pure,  without  which  it  would 
scarcely  dry,  except  by  excess  of  turpentine,  which  dis- 
poses it  to  crack.  It  is  therefore  advisable  to  use  it  only  in 
those  cases  where  there  is  little  to  be  feared  from  an  in- 
crease of  vigor  and  intensity. 

Asphaltum  is  often  adulterated  ; which  may  be  one 
cause,  by  the  by,  of  the  difference  of  opinion  which  pre- 
vails with  regard  to  the  safety  or  hazard  of  its  employ- 
ment. See,  however,  for  further  particulars.  Chap.  XV. 

No.  22.  Cassel-Earth. 

This  excellent  pigment  might  be  classed  among  the  blacks, 

• Prussian  Blue  is  considered  to  be  a combination  of  hydrocyanic 
(prussic)  acid  with  potaiia  anu  iron. 


32 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPATNTING. 


as  well  as  among  the  browns,  for  it  has  such  force  of  color  that 
it  L'hadows  the  blacks  themselves.  Over  a brown  of  the 
skeicjf’'  its  tone  is  very  intense,  and  in  this  case  it  is  worth 
ir.f/mitely  more  than  the  blacks,  which  are  almost  all  more 
or  less  iieavy  and  cold  : so  that,  with  Cassel-earth,  one  may 
obtain  tones  of  such  vigor  as  no  other  color  can  give.  For 
the  rest,  it  is  easy  to  manage  ; but,  being  quite  bituminous, 
it  must  never  be  mixed  with  White,  nor  with  any  gay  and 
light  color  ; it  would  attack  them  : besides,  this  is  alto- 
gether unnecessary.  The  blacks  are  preferable  in  mix- 
tures, and  you  can  give  them  a brown  tint  in  mixing  them 
with  brown-reds  and  brown  ochres,  more  or  less  accord 
ing  to  occasion.  Cassel-earth  must  be  reserved  then  to 
finish  a picture,  and  not  be  used  in  the  sketch  or  first- 
painting. 

It  will  give  all  the  browns  desirable,  by  mixing  it  either 
with  intense  Lake,  or  burnt  Lake,  or  lastly  with  blacks  ; but 
this  latter  mixture  is  rarely  useful,  because  of  itself  it  bears 
a yellowish-black  tint.  It  is  very  near  the  color  of 
Sepia,  used  in  washing  : you  can  spread  it,  like  that,  more 
or  less  thick  or  thin,  and  it  is  according  to  the  body  that 
you  give  it  that  it  acquires  more  or  less  intensity,  and  ap- 
pears more  or  less  dark.  It  serves  a good  purpose  for  the 
completion  of  every  kind  of  hair-tint,  from  chestnut  to 
black.  It  will  furnish  you,  as  has  been  said,  the  more  vi- 
gorous touches  of  black,  or  deep-brown  draperies,  and  the 
like.  But  it  is  of  especial  service  in  landscapes,  for  the 
most  vigorous  parts  of  the  trunks  of  trees  and  of  fore- 
grounds, as  well  as  to  paint  cavernous  rocks  or  deep  re- 
cesses in  architecture. 

For  painting  the  black  of  the  pupil  of  the  eye,  in  mix- 
ing it  with  burnt  Lake  and  a little  pure  Prussian  Blue,  it  is 

* Or  dead  coloring. — Consul  tb-  id'-fionary  of  Tennis, 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


33 


the  best  thing  you  could  have.  This  admixture  gives  a 
black  the  most  profound  ; but  it  is  only  to  be  used  in  fin* 
ishing,  for  in  the  sketch  the  pupil  should  be  painted  brown- 
i;^h-black. — For  anything  else  but  black  stuffs  and  the 
pupil  of  the  eye,  this  intense  black  would  appear  too  hard. 

Cassel-earth  is  of  the  number  of  those  colors  which 
need  drying-oil. 

Cassel-earth  is  said  to  be  like  Cologne-earth,  a lignite, 
i.  e.,  to  have  its  origin  in  the  decomposition  of  wood  ; and 
it  is  right  to  add,  to  the  recommendation  of  its  qualities 
which  we  have  extracted  from  Bouvier,  this  caution,  that 
while  De  Montabert  says  that  it  has  not  been  observed  to 
become  darker,  other  writers  have  charged  it  with  the 
fault  of  becoming  lighter,  and  of  these  we  think  Merimee 
is  one.  In  the  sixth  edition  of  Vergnaud’s  Manual  (1834) 
it  is  said  that  the  calcination  it  undergoes  to  add  to  its  in- 
tensity gives  perhaps  a little  more  solidity  to  its  color  ; and 
in  the  list  we  shall  presently  give  from  this  excellent  little 
work,  it  will  be  found  ranked  under  the  second  class,  i.  e., 
of  colors  sufficiently,  though  not  perfectly  solid.  Finally, 
it  is  probable  that  this  was  the  earth  used  by  Vandyke,  and 
not  the  species  which  now  goes  under  his  name  ; for  all 
these  bituminous  ochres,  Vandyke  Brown,  Ruhens’  Brown 
(used  by  the  Belgians,  as  we  and  the  English  use  Van- 
dyke), Cassel  Earth,  Cologne,  are  of  a similar  generic 
character,  and  differ  but  in  shade  or  in  greater  or  less 
warmth  of  tone. 


No.  23.  Cologne-Earth. 

Less  transparent,  and  of  course  covering  better  than  Cas- 
sel-earth, this  pigment  has,  besides,  a color  more  approaching 
to  a violaceous-red.  Bouvif  r denominates  it  accordingly  vio- 
laceous-brown (hrun-violatre).  He  does  not  consider  it  a 
3* 


34 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


color  at  all  necessary,  though  it  may  be  kept  for  occasiona. 
service,  and,  having  made  but  little  use  of  it  himself,  ap- 
pears to  have  been  induced  to  admit  it  in  his  list  of  good 
colors  simply  from  the  praises  bestowed  on  it  by  othc/3. 
Let  us  then  observe  that  Cologne-earth  is  to  be  rejeciea^  be  • 
cause  its  color  is  admitted  to  be  fugacious.  “ Its  use  was 
not  thought  of,”  says  a voluminous  writer,  cited  by  us  above, 
“ but  when,  employing  neither  Asphalt  nor  Mummy,  the 
artist  had  only  the  browns  of  Umber,  or  those  which  are 
made  of  black  and  yellow.  Brown  hair,  represented  by 
this  color,  has  been  known  to  disappear  in  six  months  ! All 
the  brown  had  vanished : there  remained  hut  a few  black 
lines  of  the  sketch. The  same  story  is  told  by  Merimee, 
either  of  this,  or  of  Cassel  earth  ; but  we  think  of  this 
treacherous  pigment. 

Calcined,  it  acquires  a reddish  tint. 

No.  24.  Composite  Brown. 

This  is  a mixture,  made  at  pleasure,  of  the  three  primi. 
tive  colors,  to  wit,  yellow,  red,  and  blue,  in  such  relative 
proportions  as  one  may  find  best  adapted  to  the  occasion. 
It  is  for  glazing  and  preparations. 

EXAMPLE. 

Composition  of  a Brown  for  glazing  an  object  which  it  is 
desirable  not  to  have  too  obscure,  whether  in  landscape,  dra- 
pery, and  the  like,  or  even  in  a part  of  the  shadows  of  fesh- 
tints. 

1.  Rose  Lake ; light  Ultramarine;  light  Yellow  Ochre. 
Mix  these  three  colors,  letting  tlio  occasion  direct  which 
of  them  you  would  make  predominate  ; but  never  glaze 
them  on  the  distances,  where  the  bluish  tint  is  beginning 
to  appear. 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


35 


2.  For  a hrown  more  intense  : The  best  (English)  Prus- 
sian-Blue ; Roman  Ochre,  or  Indian  Yellow  (according  to 
occasion)  ; Crhnson  Lake  (of  Madder).  Let  your  pleas- 
ure direct  you  as  before,  and  glaze  with  the  mixture  the 
nearer  parts  of  your  landscape,  <5c;c. 

3.  If  you  would  give  still  more  energy  to  this  brown : 
Prussian  Blue,  as  before  ; Indian  Yellow  (without  ochre) ; 
Burnt  Lake.  The  same  rule  as  to  the  dominant  color  ; but 
use  this  mixture  only  ybr  the  most  vigorous  tones. 

With  this  resource,  variable  to  infinity,  every  other 
color  for  glazing  might  be  dispensed  with.  “ Yet  I do  not 
advise  it,”  says  Bouvier,  “ precisely  : I will  only  say  that 
the  Bt.  Blue  (No.  19)  and  Bt.  Sienna  are  two  colors  ready 
made,  very  suitable  to  glaze  certain  objects,  and  which  it 
would  be  wrong  to  neglect ; but  at  the  same  time,  I really 
think  it  would  not  bo  ill  to  dispense  with  all  other  browns, 
and  especially  Asphaltum,  which  has  great  disadvantages.” 
If  this  latter  clause  seems  to  be  a little  inconsistent  with 
what  the  author  had  already  said  of  Asphaltum,  which, 
though  allowing  that  it  blackened,  he  did  not  exclude 
from  the  list  of  approved  colors,  we  can  only  say  that  he 
is  not  singular ; for  of  all  didactic  writers  we  know  of 
none  that  can  compare  for  inconsistency  and  self-contra- 
di'-.den  widi  the  great  mass  of  writers  on  painting  ; an  in- 
consistency that  is  st'll  more  marked  when  we  compare 
them  with  one  another,  especially  in  their  account  of  the 
properties  of  colors,  which  one  would  at  first  sight  think 
so  simple  ; for  here  their  disagreement  is  so  frequent,  as  to 
fill  the  young  student  with  doubts  that'  leave  him  always 
anxious  as  to  the  permanence  of  his  labors,  and  throw  him, 
even  in  the  immediate  employment  of  his  materials,  almost 
altogether  on  his  own  unpractised  judgment. 


36 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


BLACKS. 

Almost  all  substances  reduced  to  charcoal  may  furnish 
blacks.  In  selecting,  from  the  number  of  those  which  are 
best,  nine  or  ten  sorts,*  the  young  artist  is  not  advised  to 
procure  all,  which  would  be  troublesome  and  useless ; they 
are  merely  indicated,  that,  knowing  their  desiccative  quali- 
ties, he  may  be  enabled  to  decide  promptly  in  his  choice 
according  to  the  occasion. 

No.  25.  Ivory-Black. 

Intense  black  ; soft,  unctuous,  und  easy  to  grind  ; but  one 
of  the  worst  of  driers:  a disadvantage  that  is  noways 
lightened  by  its  adulteration  with  Bone-black.  It  is  con- 
sidered also,  as  well  as  Bone-black,  to  have  the  quality 
which  is  ascribed  to  many  of  the  browns,  particularly  those 
of  a bituminous  nature,  that,  namely,  of  deepening  its  tone 
in  the  painting ; a iault,  however,  which  we  are  inclined  to 
think  is  not  so  much  in  the  pigment  as  in  its  vehicle. 


* Borghini  (Raff.),  the  first  good  edition  of  whose  elegant  work 
was  published  in  1584,  begins  his  account  of  colors  (p.  241,  vol. 
i.,  ediz.  di  Milano,  1807)  by  the  enumeration  of  nine  sorts  of 
blacks  as  then  most  in  use,  though,  like  Bouvier,  he  intimates  that 
others  might  be  made  (“  comeche  d’altri  far  se  ne  potrebbono”).  Of 
these  nine,  asphaltum.  (“  nero  di  spalto”)  is  one.  Ivory-black, 
peachstone-hlack,  lamp-black,  vine-black  and  paper-black,  which 
are  of  Bouvier’s  list,  are  also  of  the  number,  and  therefore  were 
colors  used  by  the  old  painters  of  our  modern  time.  As  for  the 
ancients,  their  blacks  were  also  chiefly  of  pure  coal.  They  hac 
too  their  smoke-black  and  torch-black  : their  blue-black  was  of 
wine-  ees ; though  Polygnotus  and  Micon  made  theirs  of  the 
husks  of  grapes : while  the  only  pure  black  that  we  ourselves  know. 
Ivory-black,  has  the  honor  of  being  added  to  the  pigments  of  Apel« 
les  (see  Pliny,  xxxv.  25,  or  6,  according  to  the  edition). 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


37 


No.  26.  Coffee-Black. 

Little  known,  and  not  on  sale.  Yet  it  is  one  of  the  best 
that  can  be  used  : soft  without  being  greasy,  light,  almost 
impalpable,  even  before  being  ground,  and  giving  tints  of 
a very  bluish  gray  when  mixed  with  White,  a quality  very 
precious  for  making  the  blues  of  the  sketch,  and  dull 
greens.  Bouvier,  who  says  this,  prefers  it  greatly  to 
Vine-hlack,  notwithstanding  the  excellence  of  this  latter, 
because  the  first  is  ground  in  a couple  of  turns  of  the 
muller,  while  Vine-Uack  springs  up  under  the  muller,  and 
therefore  is  ground  but  very  imperfectly  or  only  after  a 
long  exertion.  Besides,  Coffee-hlack  dries  better.  For  the 
rest,  it  is  of  a very  fine  and  bluish  tone.  It  is  not  a deep 
black  ;*  but  it  combines  admirably  well  with  all  other 
colors. 

For  this  pigment,  as  well  as  the  Prussian  Brown,  and 
Cochineal-Brown  (Bt.  Lake),  artists  are  indebted  to  Bou- 
vier, who,  obtaining  it  from  his  countryman  Freschwise 
(a  landscape-painter),  first  published  it  in  his  Manual  in 
1827. 

No.  27.  Paper-Black. 

Of  the  nature  of  Vine-black  ; but  much  more  easy  to 
grind.  It  is  however  tedious  and  wearisome  to  make  ; 
a ad  though  excellent,  we  are  so  rich  in  blacks,  that  we  will 
not  dwell  on  it  further  than  to  add,  that  it  is  very  soft,  of 
an  agreeable  fine  color,  bluish-gray,  and  that  mixed  with 
wliitcs  or  yellows  it  may  be  used  with  advantage  to  paint 
landscapes,  or  even  flesh. 

* De  Montabert,  who  copies  the  indication  and  process  from  Bou- 
vier with  due  acknowledgment,  prefers  calling  it  Coffee-Brown, 
giving  it  as  an  exemplification  of  a bluish-brown. 


38 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


No.  28.  Cork- Black. 

The  lightest,  finest,  and  bluest  of  all  the  blacks.  “ Some 
of  my  friends,”  says  Bouvier,  “ call  it  Beggars’  Ultrama- 
rine, because  it  produces,  by  combinations,  tints  almost  as 
fine  as  Ultramarine.  This  is  saying  a great  deal,  cer- 
tainly.” Like  Coffee-black,  it  scarcely  needs  more  than 
the  palette-knife  in  mixing  it ; though  it  is  as  well  to  use 
the  muller  for  both  of  these,  as  for  other  colors,  all  being 
improved  thereby. 

Cork-Black  is  not  a velvet-black  ; where  intensity  is  re- 
quired some  other  is  to  be  preferred  : but  for  mixtures  it 
is  admirable,  and  especially  for  linen,  skies,  distances,  and 
for  the  different  broken-tints  of  carnations  (in  the  sketch). 

It  is  known  to  English  artists  as  Spanish  Black. 

No.  29.  Vine-Black. 

An  excellent,  bluish  black,  and  extensively  used,  espe- 
cially for  large  pictures,  where  much  color  is  employed. 
But  it  is  difficult  to  grind  fine,  as  we  have  said  ; and  there- 
fore not  to  be  compared  with  Coffee-black,  which  is 
equally  beautiful  (see  above.  No.  26).  Nevertheless, 
those  who  can  procure  bladders  of  Vine-Black  perfectly 
ground,  will  be  right  to  use  it. 

No.  30.  Prussian  Black. 

The  same  prussian-blue  (that  is,  the  English) 
calcined  in  the  open  air  gives  the  brown  No.  19,  r.ak'-^s'  \ 
valuable  black  when  burnt  in  a close  crucible.  It  L ^ rvv 
intense,  very  soft  and  velvety,  and  very  agreeable  to 
It  is  ground  in  a few  moments.  But  its  special  quality  is 
that  it  dries  much  more  promptly  than  all  the  other  blacks. 
Finally,  it  is  of  a bluish  shade,  and  may  be  used  for  every- 
thing. 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


89 


No.  31.  Russian  Black. 

A natural  earth,  extremely  intense  of  tone.  It  is  of 
Russia,  as  its  name  imports,  and  we  imagine  is  not  easy  to 
be  procured  in  this  country,  even  were  it  not  superfluous. 
It  may  however  gratify  the  young  artist  to  inform  him  that 
it  was  probably  an  earth  of  this  species  which  the  old 
fresco-painters  employed,  and  which  Borghini  mentions 
first  of  the  blacks  he  has  enumerated,  as  we  have  said  in 
a note  above.  Flis  words  are  : “ The  first  [sc.  black]  is 
called  earth-hlack,  a coarse  and  natural  color,  that  may  be 
used  in  fresco,  distemper,  or  oil  painting.”* 

No.  32.  Bone-Black. 

Reddish.  Though  used  by  many  painters,  it  is  not  to 
be  advised,  because  of  its  difficulty  in  drying,  which  neces- 
sitates the  employment  of  drying-oil  in  too  great  quantity. 
The  reddish,  or  rather  orange-reddish  tinge,  if  needed,  can 
be  given  to  any  other  black  by  Cassel-earth,  o-r,  if  it  be 
wanted  still  warmer,  by  Bt.  Sienna. 

No.  33.  Peach-Black. 

Somewhat  violaceous.  It  is  much  used  by  Parisian 
artists,  and  Bouvier  believes  it  to  be  a good  black,  but  at 


* D primo  si  chiama  nero  di  terra,  color  grcsso  e naturale,  che 
a fresco,  a tempera,  ed  a olio  pud  servire.  Rip.  lib.  ii. — p.,vol. 
and  ed,  already  indicated.  Pliny  also  heads  his  list  of  blacks 
(xxxv.  25 ; ed.  Berol.)  with  a fossil,  or  rather  with  two,  as  his  own 
phrase  is  “ geminae  originis,”  although  one  of  these  was  brought 
by  preparation  to  that  color,  being  at  first  like  brimstone  (“  sul- 
phurei  colons).”  Sir  H.  Davy  considered  them  to  be  of  iron  and 
manganese.  (See  Stieglitz  Ueher  die  Malerfarb.  der  Gr.  u.  Romer 
(Leipz.  1817)  : where  the  reader  of  German,  who  is  curious  in  these 
matters,  may  find  a complete  yet  concise  account  of  all  the  colors,  sc 
far  as  known,  of  the  ancients.) 


40 


HANDBOOK  OF  ( ILPAINTING. 


the  same  time  asks,  very  sensibly,  of  what  use  is  it  to 
have  a black  of  this  cast,  which  can  always  be  given  by 
Lake,  without  diminishing  but  rather  increasing  the  in- 
tensity of  the  black  it  may  be  mixed  with.  An  eminent 
authority  says  of  it  that  it  is  “ almost  always  false  and  in 
discord  with  the  other  colors.” 

To  resume,  Coffee-hlack,  Cork-black,  and  Prussian 
Black  are  the  three  most  to  be  recommended.  If  one 
choose  not  the  trouble  of  making  them  himself,  he  has  but  to 
take  Vine-black  as  the  bluest,  and  Ivory-black  as  the 
blackest,  and  he  has  all  he  wants  of  the  list. 

As  however  the  young  artist  will  meet,  especially  in  old 
books,  with  the  mention  of  Lamp-black,  and  may  be  tempt- 
ed by  its  description  to  try  it,  we  will  translate  from  an- 
other work  of  high  standing  what  may  serve  him  as  a 
caution.  “ As  to  the  black  of  wine-lees  (called  German 
Black),  and  the  black,  however  made,  known  as  Lamp- 
black, they  must  not  be  used.  The  gray  and  violet  tints 
of  painters  of  the  schools  of  Michelangelo  and  Raphael 
have  given  proof  enough  that  they  are  dangerous.”  We 
have  said  in  this  extract,  with  a free  paraphrase.  Lamp- 
black however  made,  because  the  French  distinguish  be- 
tween the  noir  defumee  (smoke-black),  which  is  gathered 
from  the  combustion  of  pitch  and  tar,  and  the  noir  de  bougie, 
or  that  which  is  collected  from  the  smoke  of  a waxlight. 
De  Montabert  considers  both  these  kinds  of  what  v/e  call, 
by  one  name.  Lampblack,  as  to  be  rejected.  Yet  it  Aviil  be 
seen  that  the  second,  which  is  indeed  preferable  of  the  two, 
is  put  among  the  list  we  shall  presently  give,  as  of  the  first 
class  of  pigments  in  point  of  permanence ; and  it  is  but 
fair  to  add,  that  the  Manual  from  which  we  give  that  list, 
and  which  was  published  (the  sixth  edition  five  years  later 
than  Montabert’s  great  work)  thus  speaks : “ Noir  de 


COLORS  IN  TTSE. 


41 


bougie  ” (candle-black,  i.  e.,  made  by  a waxliglit).  “ This 
color  which  was  formerly  used  only  for  miniature-paint- 
ing, is  now  employed  in  oil.  It  replaces  with  advantage 
Peach  and  Vine  Black,  and  has  not,  like  those  last,  the 
fault  of  penetrating  through  the  other  tints.”  Here  is  a 
great  discrepance ! for  Vine-black,  which  Montabert  has 
spared,  falls  equally  under  ban  with  Peach-black  or  better 
Peachstone-black,  while  Lampblack  is  restored  to  its  rank 
of  respectability  !*  This  is  only  one  of  the  instances  of 
contradiction  between  writers  on  the  colors  used  in  paint- 
ing, that  we  have  already  alluded  to.  It  is  therefore 
chiefly,  that  in  the  present  edition  of  our  compend  we  have 
given  such  marked  prominence  to  Bouvier’s  discreet  list 
(though  this  too  is  not  without  its  inadvertences  and  de- 
ficiencies, some  of  which  we  hLVO  silently  corrected  or 
supplied).  Should  our  labors  prc  \ e s'>  acceptable  that  in 
course  of  time  another  issue  of  our  h s.'k  should  be  called 
for,  we  will  make  anew  the  fullest  re seai  dies  into  all  au- 
thorities, from  the  oldest  date  to  the  r^cst  modern,  and 
with  the  aid  of  the  little  experience  we  can  claim  as  our 
own,  we  may  hope  to  present  the  Young  and  the 

Amalenr  with  an  improved  chromatic  catalo^'ue  and  his- 
tf'.ry  (liat  may  be  relied  on.  As  for  the  paiticnVr  black 
t‘  di  Las  led  us  into  these  remarks,  let  us  be  peiANtted  to 
t'ount-:el,  for  the  present,  its  rejection ; the  risk  iio'  being 
cc'H  pensated  by  any  positive*  advantage. 

* We  must  not  omit  to  say  that  Merimee  (a  high  artho  be- 
c-  use  an  excellent  chemist  as  well  as  nractical  painter  ) iA’^<5rs 
i -.impblack,  at  least  the  better  sp^>  u**  ht-  njpy 

ployed  with  perfect  safety 


42 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


GREEN. 

No.  37.  Distilled  Verdigris. 

This,  a glaze,  is  to  be  used  only  in  rare  cases,  where 
the  most  brilliant  green  possible  is  wanted,  as  for  the  plu. 
mage  of  birds,  for  butterflies,  the  panes  of  church-windows, 
silk  or  velvet  draperies,  and  sometimes  even  for  stuffs  of 
wool  when  of  a very  lively  green,  as  in  certain  shawls, 
and  finally,  above  all,  to  represent  the  brilliant  effect  of 
certain  green  precious-stones. 

The  method  of  employing,  without  ill  consequence,  this 
beautiful  but  dangerous  color  is  as  follows  : — Finish  entirely 
the  object  you  would  glaze,  and  as  carefully  as  if  it  were 
to  remain  unglazed.  Your  greens  will  be  made  with 
Prussian  Blue  and  one  of  the  light  yellows  No.  3 or  No. 
4,  observing  only  to  choose  the  Naples  yellow  rather  than 
the  ochre,  if  you  would  have  a very  gay  green  ; and  in 
this  case  it  were  better  also  to  use  Ultramarine  than  Prus- 
sian Blue. 

Keep  the  color  yellowish,  or  even  make  it  pure  yellow 
on  occasion.  But  let  no  White  be  admitted. 

This  done,  leave  the  work  to  dry  perfectly : then  gla/'? 
over  the  entire  object  a couch  of  Indian  Yellow  witli  . 
ing-oil.  This  couch  is  to  be  very  thin,  if  your  grefi^ 
to  be  light  and  brilliant ; but  of  more  body,  if  you  v’ou'id 
have  the  green  more  or  less  deep. 

Let  this  glaze  also  dry,  thoroughly,  till  there  is  no  longer 
any  viscosity.  Then,  which  will  be  about  a week  or 
night  in  summer,  and  longer  in  winter,  you  are  ready  foi 
the  verdigris. 

Crush  quickly  a little  verdigris  (the  crystallized  only, 
remember  ; tnat  is,  “ Distilled  Verdigris  ”)  on  your  stone 
or  glass  slab,  and  reduce  it  to  a fine  powder,  with  a small 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


43 


muller.  Plave  a large  brush  ready  ; dry,  not  oiled ; and, 
as  the  greatest  celerity  is  required,  secure  yourself  against 
interruption.  Take  Balsam  of  Copaiba  or  Capivi  (the 
whitest  and  least  viscous  you  can  procure)  and  fine  Mastic- 
Varnish,  equal  parts,  and  mix  with  it  quickly,  in  a couple 
of  turns  of  the  muller,  your  verdigris,  keeping  it  thinner 
than  if  it  were  to  paint  with  ; bring  the  mixture  quickly 
to  the  centre  of  the  slab,  lest  it  should  adhere,  and  with 
your  soft,  white,  and  new  brush,  spread  boldly  and  rapidly 
your  glaze  on  every  part  alike,  lights  and  shades,  with 
equal  surface,  exactly  in  fact  as  if  you  were  varnishing. 

It  is  better  of  course  to  have  too  little  than  too  much 
color  in  this  glaze,  because  there  is  always  the  resource 
of  a second  glaze,  if  the  green  be  found  too  yellowish ; in 
which  case  you  will  wait  till  the  first  couch  be  perfectly 
dry. 

Be  cautious  too  not  to  go  over  again,  in  your  operations, 
a part  which  has  had  time  to  evaporate  however  little,  be- 
cause the  brush  would  leave  its  mark.  A little  experience 
in  varnishing,  however,  will  teach  this  better  than  any 
Gcunsel. 

Thus  employed,  this  color,  dangerous  as  it  is  in  itself, 
undergoes  no  change  : it  is  so  imprisoned  in  the  copaiba, 
which  becomes  very  hard,  and  in  the  varnish,  which  dries 
instantly,  that  the  air  has  no  time  to  attack  it.  “ I am  cer- 
tain of  it,”  says  Bouvier,  “ for  it  is  more  than  eighteen 
years  since  I used  this  extraordinary  means,  for  furniture 
of  Utrecht  velvet,  for  shawls,  and  for  satins,  and  I can  affirm 
that  they  are  as  brilliant  as  on  the  day  they  were  first 
painted.”  It  is  however  only  to  be  used  rarely,  on  ac- 
count of  its  great  brilliancy,  which  would  overpower  all 
the  other  colors. 

Remember  that  Verdigris  is  a cold  color,  and  that  the 


44 


HANDBOOif  OF  OILPAINTING. 


under  lay  can  hardly  be  kept  too  yellow ; otherwise  the 
green  produced  would  be  almost  blue,  and  harsh  and  disa- 
greeable in  tone. 

Remember,  too,  to  let  the  picture  be  thoroughly  dry  be- 
fore it  be  glazed.  One  of  M.  Bouvier’s  friends  having 
neglected  this  precaution,  the  balsam  and  varnish,  harder 
and  stronger  than  the  under  color,  prevented  its  expan- 
sion, and  the  part  thus  glazed  opened  in  a thousand  little 
cracks,  discovering  the  very  priming  of  the  canvas. 

Having  had  no  occasion  to  make  trial  ourself  of  this 
method,  we  can  add  nothing  as  respects  its  efficacy,  though 
we  have  no  doubt  of  it  from  the  admitted  fact,  that  this  pig- 
ment so  apt  to  effloresce  in  simple  oil  is  to  a degree  pro- 
tected by  varnish.  We  have  however  experimented  with 
the  balsam  as  a vehicle  of  other  pigments  ; and  found  it  from 
its  viscosity,  and  its  difflculty  in  drying,  even  with  the  ad- 
dition of  varnishes,  quite  objectionable  ; while  its  odor, 
even  in  so  little  quantity  as  was  used,  was  so  insufferable 
that  we  could  not  keep  the  porcelain  on  which  the  experi- 
ment was  made  in  the  room.  De  Montabert  joining  with 
Bouvier,  and  other  writers,  in  an  expression  of  admiration 
for  the  beauty  of  this  glaze  of  verdigris  (which,  by  the  by, 
is  supposed  by  some  to  be  the  brilliant  green  seen  in  cer- 
tain old  paintings*)  recommends  as  the  vehicle  of  its  ap- 
plication linseed-oil;  “this  oil,”  he  says,  “being  a better 
protection  ” (than  other  oils  doubtless)  “ against  the  influ- 
ence of  the  air  on  the  salts  of  this  color.  At  the  end  of 
six  days  the  effect  will  be  produced,  and  the  turquoise-hue 
of  the  verdigris  will  be  changed  into  an  harmonious  and 
superb  green.” 

Verdigris  is  rendered  a safer  pigment  by  burning ; but 

* Leon,  da  Vinci  speaks  of  it,  and  of  its  liability  to  wash  off 
unless  confined  by  a coat  of  varnish,  applied  after  it  is  dry 


It  acquires  by  the  process  an  olive  shade.  Of  course  in 
this  state,  having  parted  with  its  acid,  it  is  no  longer  an 
acetate  of  copper,  but  an  oxide.  Bt.  Verdigris,  as  may 
he  supposed  from  the  siccative  properties  of  the  crude 
pigment,  dries  admirably. 


HANDR<VOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


4a 


CHAPTER  111. 

LIST  OF  ALL  THE  COLORS  AT  PRESENT  EMPLOYED  IN  PAINT. 

ING,  ARRANGED  IN  THREE  CLASSES,  ACCORDING  TO  THEIR 

DEGREE  OF  FIXEDNESS  OR  PERMANENCE.* 

Class  i.  Pigments  whose  colors  do  not  change,  either  hy 
the  action  of  light,  or  hy  comhination  with  other  colors. 

Whites.  None.  {They  all  finish  hy  hlackening,  even 
those  derived  from  lead,  ivhich  change  still  more  in  situations 
deprived  of  air  than  in  those  which  receive  both  aii  and 
light.) 

Blues.  Ultramarine;  both  of  the  lazulite,  and  the  facti- 
tious.— Cobalt.  {It  has  less  body  than  Ultramarine,  and 
its  shade,  of  a blue  less  pure,  gains  in  intensity.) 

Yellows.  Mars  Yellow. — Indian  Yellow, — Gaude 
(Weld)  Lake.— Yellow  Ochie. 

Blacks  and  Browns.  Ivory  Black. — Lampblack  (the 
best). — Mars  Brown. 

Reds,  Orange-tints,  and  Violets.  Mars  Red. — Car- 
mine of  Madder. — Madder-lake. — Burnt  Sienna-earth. — 
Burnt  Italian  Earth. — Orange  Mars. — Purple  of  Cassius 
— Violet  Mars. 

* For  this  useful  list  we  a/e  indebted  to  Vergnaud’s  capital  little 
book,  “ Manuel  du  Peintre  en  Bdfimens,  du  Fabricant  dt 
Coulcurs,  Sfc.” 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


Greens.  Chrome  Green. — Cobalt  Green. 

Class  ii.  Pigments  whose  colors  are  of  a fixedness  less 
invariahle  than  the  preceding,  yet  sufficiently  solid  to  he  used 
•laoitualhj. 

Whites.  Silver  White. — Whitelead. 

Blues.  Prussian  Blue. — Mineral  Blue. — Indigo. 

Yellows.  Roman  Ochre. — Raw  Italian  Earth. — Raw 
Sienna-earth. — Naples  Yellow. 

Blacks  and  Browns.  German  Black. — Charcoah 
black. — Composite  Black. — Lampblack  (inferior*). — Bone- 
black. — Peach-black. — Vine-black. — Burnt  Cologne-earth. 
— Burnt  Cassel-earth. — Bitumen. 

Reds,  Oranoe-tints,  and  Violets.  Brown  Red. — 
English  Red  and  Prussian  Red. — Cinnabar  or  Vermilion. 
— Chinese  Vermilion. 

Greei.s.  Green  Earth  (that  of  Verona). 

Class  iti  . Pigments  whose  colors  are  of  hut  little  solidity, 
and  changeahk.  ly  the  action  of  light  and  hy  admixture  with 
other  colo-^s 

Whites.  Ceruse. — Oh?dk  .v’hite?. 

Blues.  Blue  Ashes. — AyMr"*. 

Yellows.  Mineral  Yt  ■' ».  - Cnj  'me  Yellow. — Yellow 
of.  Antimony. — Orpirr<  u<..  — Terra-Merita. — 

Saffron-yellow. — Yellow  iS'^/  .(r  yrnn  \ n'Otch  Pink). 

Blacks  and  Brow-  v'.  Umh*;?.  — B’.*own  Stil  de  grain 

* The  reader  will  remember  l r.  vireceding  page  we  showed 

that  the  Frem  h distinguished  this  sp—' ( ''  black  by  different 
terms.  What  we  call  in  this  list  the  best  is  vh-  ''  Roir  d'^  bougie  :** 
the  inferior^  “ Noir  de  fum4e.”  See  p.  40. 


43 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


(Brown  Pink). — Vandyck  Brown. — Bistre. — Ilydrocyan- 
ate  of  Copper. 

Reds,  &c.  Carmine  (of  cochineal). — Minium. 
Greens.  Verdigris. — Distilled  Verdigris. — lluncfary 
^ireen. — Scheele’s  Green. — Bladder-Green. — Iris-green. 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


4<l 


CHAPTER  IV.  ‘ 

BRIEF  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  NATURE,  PROPERTIES,  AND  USES  OF 
SUCH  PIGMENTS,  IN  THE  PRECEDING  LIST,  AS  HAVE  NOT 
ALREADY  BEEN  DESCRIBED  IN  CHAPTER  II. 

Of  such  pigments  of  the  preceding  list  as  have  not  al- 
ready been  described  in  Chapter  II.,  and  are  not  too  com- 
mon to  be  unknown,  we  will  give  a hasty  sketch,  sufficiently 
comprehensive  to  enable  the  young  artist  to  understand  the 
table. 

In  the  first  class,  then,  there  are  the  pigments  known  by 
the  prefix  or  addition  Mars.  They  are  all  of  the  same 
character  and  nature ; artificial  ochres  (formed  by  a com- 
bination of  the  oxide  of  iron  with  alumin),  of  great  beau- 
ty and  solidity,  and  differing  only  in  their  hues  of  Yellow^ 
Brown,  SfC.  The  Violets  of  this  tribe,  which  are  produced 
by  a very  powerful  and  oft-repeated  calcination,  are  of 
high  price. — Weld-Lake  (Laque  de  gaude)  is  derived 
from  the  weld  {reseda  luteola),  a plant  which  has  always 
been  a favorite  with  dyers.  It  comes  in  drops,  like  small 
buttons,  and  is  of  a greenish  tint,  but  not  so  much  so  when 
mixed  as  in  the  dry  state. — Carmine  of  Madder  is  a true 
carmine  extracted  from  madder  by  a process  discovered  by 
Bourgeois  in  1816,  by  which  the  sole  quality  wanting  to 
that  precious  color,  the  pure  red  of  madder,  viz.,  greater 
Dody,  has  been  actually  given  to  it.  It  is  of  course  exnen- 
sive. — Purple  of  Cassius,  a combination  of  the  dissolved 
hydrochlorates  or  muriates  of  gold  and  tin.  It  is  not  bril- 
4 


60 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


liant,  but  of  extreme  solidity.  This  too  is  necessarily  of  grea 
cost. — Chrome  Green  is  the  oxide  of  chrome.  It  is  but 
little  used,  and  is  rather  dear;  but  is  eligible  for  either 
water  or  oil.  The  compound  colors  which  assume  the 
same  name  are  worthless.  This  is  a natural  pigment. — 
Cohalt  Green^  a fine  color,  highly  praised,  is  said  to  be  un- 
changeable, and  to  unite  so  kindly  with  other  colors  that  it 
may  be  used  even  in  carnations.  Here  too  there  is  a com- 
pound color  of  the  name  that  must  not  be  confounded  with 
the  true  pigment.  The  latter  is  evidently  that  mentioned 
and  commended  by  Cennini,  who  calls  it  Blue  Green. 

Of  the  second  class, — Mineral  Blue  is  merely,  as  we 
have  said  (p.  4),  a modification  of  Prussian  Blue, — having 
more  alumin.  Composite  Black,  the  residuum  from  the 
fabrication  of  Prussian  Blue.  It  is  used  for  composing, 
with  white,  fine  silver-grays,  being  of  a rather  bluish  cast. — 
English  and  Prussian  Reds  are  ochres  ; tritoxides  of  iron, 
according  to  Thenard  (i.  e.,  iron  at  the  maximum  of 
oxidation).  The  Prussian  is  finer  and  more  lively  than 
the  English,  which  last  is  known  also  by  the  name  of  Col- 
cothar.  They  are  confined  in  general  to  coarse  purposes. — • 
Green  Earth  (Terre  Verte  ; Terra  Verde).  The  best  sort, 
that  of  Verona,  is  used  by  landscape  and  marine  painters. 
The  common  sort  is  pale  and  has  less  body. 

Of  the  third  class, — Ceruse  is,  as  we  have  said  (page  2), 
simply  whitelead  of  different  qualities  incorporated  with 
Chalk- white  in  various  proportions. — The  chalk-whites  need 
no  explanation.  Spanish  White,  Bougival  White,  &c.,  are 
all  of  this  class. — Blue  Ashes  (“  Cendre  hleue';^^  or,  as  it  is, 
or  used  to  be,  written  in  London,  where  it  was  first  made, 
Bleu  de  Cendres, — by  corruption,  Sanders  Blue),  is  made 
from  the  deutosulphate  of  copper  by  means  of  common 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


51 


potash  and  sal-ammoniac.*  It  loses  its  proper  hue 
almost  directly. — Azure.  This  is  merely  Smalt  (or  glass 
of  cobalt),  which  has  already  been  described.  It  is  known 
also  as  Enamel  Blue. — Mineral  Yellow  : a combination  of 
litharge  and  sal-ammoniac.  It  is  of  a brilliant  citron- 
yellow,  but  of  no  solidity.  According  to  Merimee,  there 
is  another  Mineral  Yellow  more  solid,  whose  composition  is 
of  bismuth,  sulphate  of  antimony,  and  nitrate  of  potash. 
And  there  is  also  a kind,  tolerably  solid,  made  of  arsenic. — 
Yellow  of  Antimony  holds  the  middle  place  between  Chrome 
Yellow  and  Naples  Yellow.  According  to  the  Manuel^ 
Guirnet  (to  whom  the  art  is  indebted  for  the  factitious  Ul- 
tramarine) has  prepared  a kind  of  a fine  golden  color,  more 
intense  than  that  of  Naples  Yellow,  and  that  seems  to  be 
solid.  The  author  of  the  Traite  Complet  considers  Anti- 
mony-yellow preferable  to  Naples  Yellow,  and  quite  as 
solid. — Orpiment : sulphate  of  arsenic ; sometimes  found 
native.  It  derives  its  name  from  its  brilliant  gold-color 
{auripigmenium)  ; but  the  different  proportions  in  which  the 
arsenic  and  sulphur  comlnne  cause  a variety  of  hue,  hence 
there  is  the  orange  which  is  called  Realgar  or  Red  Orpi- 
ment. Orpiment  cannot  be  used  with  any  pigment  that 
has  lead  for  its  base.'j'  But  by  itself  Merimee  thinks  that 
it  may  ; or  with  ochres.  Green  Earth,  and  Ultramarine, 
which  do  not  affect  such  preparations.  The  red  orphneni 
(in  which  the  arsenic  predominates)  is  the  less  solid  of  the 

* There  is  also  a native  Cendre  bleue,  found  in  coppermines. 
None  of  the  blues  of  copper  are  to  be  trusted. 

f Sir  J.  Reynolds,  who  had  no  chemical  knowledge,  fell  into 
the  error  of  such  a combination.  The  most  recent  English  writers 
speak  of  a pigment  resembling  Orpiment,  that  is  not  liable  to  changs 
(as  far  as  is  yet  ascertained),  and  which  is  a factitious  sulphuret  of 
the  new  metal  Cadmium,  and  bears  its  name.  We  name  it  merely 
as  a matter  of  information. 


UNIVERSITY  OF 
ILLINOIS  LIBRARY 


52 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


two. — Massicot.  The  ancients  it  appears  used  this  color ; 
and,  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  the  moderns  em- 
ployed it  unhesitatingly.  The  first  mention  of  it  since 
the  Christian  era  is  probably  to  be  found  in  the  MS.  of 
Theophilus,  who  employed  it  to  compose  his  local  flesh- 
tint,  which  he  calls  Memhrana.  It  is  the  protoxide  of  lead 
(i.  e.,  lead  at  its  least  degree  of  oxidation)  with,  according 
to  Thenard,  a very  little  metallic  lead  combined ; and  is 
produced  by  calcination  in  the  air.  They  used  to  distin- 
guish in  the  shops  (perhaps  do  still),  the  White,  the 
Yellow,  and  the  Golden  Massicot,  which  were  simply  diffe- 
rent calcinations  (more  or  less  strong)  of  Ceruse.  If  Mini- 
urn,  which  is  the  next  degree  of  oxidation  (deutoxide),  is  a 
faithless  color,  it  is  with  reason  Massicot  has  almost  disap- 
peared from  use. — Terra-merita  is  a vegetable  color,  pro- 
duced by  the  decoction  of  an  Indian  root  {curcuma  longa). 
— Saffron-yellow  needs  no  explanation. — Stil  de  grain  is 
the  name  given  by  the  French  to  a yellow  color  produced 
by  a decoction  of  Avignon  berries  {graines)  precipitated 
by  alum,  and  of  different  shades  according  to  the  prepara- 
tion, which  is  made,  for  the  base,  of  different  proportions 
of  Troy  White  (a  species  of  chalk  or  marie,  found  in  the 
environs  of  Troyes  in  France.)*  A writer  we  have  often 
quoted  says  that  the  stils  de  grain,  composed  of  the  oxide 
of  lead  and  the  Avignon  berry,  are  of  more  solidity. 
Brown  (or  English)  Stil  de  grain  is  prepared  with  a cal- 
careous or  marly  earth,  alum,  and  a decoction  of  Avignon 
berries : a treacherous  pigment,  like  the  yellow  stil. — 

* In  some  English  books  of  the  last  century,  this  frail  color  is 
termed  Yellow  IFas/iand  Yellow-berry  Wash,  or  Yellow  Wash  of 
French  Berries.  It  is  the  same  pigment  that  is  known  variously  as 
Dutch  Pink,  English  Pink,  and  Italian  Pink.  The  brown  is 
Brown  Pink 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


53 


Vandyck  Brown  we  have  noticed  elsewhere. — Bistre  (used 
only  as  a watercolor)  is  made  of  soot. — The  Hydrocyanate  of 
Copper  (hydrocyanic  or  prussic  acid  and  copper)  has  been 
recommended  for  beauty  and  intensity  by  an  English  chem- 
ist of  the  name  of  Hatchett. — Hungary  Green,  otherwise 
Mountain-Green,  is  a native  carbonate  of  copper. — Scheele’s 
Green  (so  called  from  the  name  of  the  inventor)  is  a com- 
bination of  the  deutoxides  of  arsenic  and  copper.  And 
there  are  similar  preparations,  which  are  known  as  Schwein- 
furt  Green,  Brunswick  Green,  and  Vienna  Green.  Meri- 
m^e  says  they  are  superior  in  beauty  to  Scheele’s. — Blad- 
der-Green obtains  its  name  from  its  being  kept  suspended  in 
bladders,  in  the  chimney  or  other  warm  place,  to  harden 
and  preserve  it.  It  is  made  by  evaporating  the  expressed 
juice  of  the  berries  of  the  buckthorn,  a plant  of  the  same 
kind  as  that  which  produces  the  Avignon  berry.  It  is  of 
common  mention  in  old  English  treatises  as  Sap  Green. 
And  the  blue  flower  of  the  iris  gives  the  next  named  color, 
Ins-green,  which  is  little  used  except  in  miniature. 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


fi4 


CHAPTER  V. 

SUMMARY  OF  THE  GENERALLY-RECEIVED  OPINIONS  RE- 

GARD TO  THE  SOLIDITY  OF  THE  VARIOUS  COLORS  NOW  IN 

USE  FOR  OILPAINTING. 

Having  thus  given  a sufficient  exp.anation  to  enable  the 
student  to  understand  the  catalogue  of  Chapter  III.,  advi- 
sing him  however  that  it  is  simply  that  he  may  “ under- 
stand,”  when  he  happens  to  hear  or  read  the  names  of  cer- 
tain of  the  colors  there  classified, — for,  as  a student,  that  is, 
as  a young  artist,  we  counsel  him  to  trust  to  the  long  expe- 
rience, and  the  recommendations,  made  so  evidently  in 
good  faith,  of  M.  Bouvier,  and  be  contented  with  the  ma- 
terials he  has  indicated,  we  will  complete  our  preliminary 
chapters  of  colors,  by  subjoining  what  the  author  of  the 
Traite  Complet  has  to  say  of  their  relative  permanence. 
We  shall  thus,  we  trust,  leave  but  little  unsaid  for  the  sat- 
isfaction of  the  inexperienced  in  this  important  part  of 
their  pursuit. 

The  table  below,  says  our  author  {Tome  ix.,  p.  387) 
follows  “ the  opinion  generally  accredited.”  He  then  pro- 
ceeds : “ The  White  oxide  of  lead  is  a good  pigment.  All 
the  ores  and  oxides  of  iron  are  solid.  Brown  Ochre,  which 
is  a natural  ochre,  is  often  impure  ; we  should  not  trust  it 
in  carnations.  In  general,  the  artificial  oxides,  known  as 
Yellow  Mars,  Orange  Mars,  Red  Mars,  Violet  Mars,  are 
•xcellent.  Naples  Yellow  is  not  a bad  pigment ; yet  the  iron 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


55 


of  the  palette-knife  makes  its  color  greenish  : it  should  be 
manipulated  with  a spatula  of  horn  or  ivory.  Antimony- 
Yellow  is  as  solid  as  Naples  Yellow ; but  like  the  latter  it 
takes  a greenish  hue  under  a steel  blade.  Massicot  is  a 
very  bad  pigment,  as  well  as  Yellow  or  Red  Orjpiment,  which 
are  poisons  for  the  art  as  well  as  for  the  artist.  Indian 
Yellow  appears  to  be  very  solid : the  yellows  of  weld 
(gaude),  of  gamboge,  of  the  Avignon  berry,  are  of  doubtful 
solidity.  Chrome  Yellow  is  to  be  mistrusted,  although  in 
certain  cases,  that  is  to  say,  in  certain  mixtures,  it  changes 
little.  Madder  is  of  a very  permanent  color ; the  lakes  and 
carmines  it  produces  undergo  no  change.  Native  Cinnabar 
is  safe  enough  ; but  all  brightened  vermilions  are  to  be 
feared.  Carmine  of  cochineal  is  worth  nothing  as  an  oil- 
paint.  Minium  is  a poison.  Ultramarine  is  the  pigment,  by 
eminence.  Prussian  Blue  is  good  ; but  it  often  takes  a 
greenish  cast  and  does  not  combine  happily  with  carnations 
whose  composition  is  oxide  of  lead,  red,  and  yellow. 
Cobalt-Blue  is  solid  enough  ; but  it  gains  in  intensity  and 
leaves  a false  tone.*  All  the  blues,  produced  from  copper, 
are  dangerous,  because  of  the  oil  and  oxide  of  lead  : there- 
fore Blue  Ashes,  the  Azures,  etc,,  should  be  excluded  from 
oilpainting.  Cobalt-Green  is  excellent.  Scheele’s  Green 
would  seem  to  be  quite  a good  pigment ; yet  it  comes  from 
copper : it  is  better  then  not  to  use  it  in  fleshtints.  Green 
Earth  is  dangerous.  Prussian  or  Iron  Brown^  is  excel- 

* It  is  said  also,  by  later  writers,  to  take  in  time  something  of  a 
greenish  shade  ; than  which  nothing  is  more  probable. 

t Or  Brown  of  Iron  (“  Brun  de  fer”).  De  Montabert  prefers 
always  this  name  for  Bouvier’s  calcination,  because  of  its  nature. 
We  have  chosen,  where  not  translating,  to  write  it  Brown  of  Prus- 
tian  Blue,  or  simply  Calcined  Prussian-Blue  (as  we  label  our  own 
samples),  as  more  precisely  defining  its  peculiar  source  and  fabri* 
cation 


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lent.  Casscl-Earih\sm\u\,  Cologne-Earth  TJmhcf 

blackens.  Bitumen  is  a great  resource  ; but  it  should  be 
selected  and  pr-^vpd,  because  it  is  sometimes  fugacious, 
is  at  least  useless.*  Brown  Pink  not  soWd.  All 

* Among  a number  of  bad  pigments  which  as  being  most  in  usage 
Bouvier  takes  pains  to  indicate,  that  the  student  may  run  into  no 
hazard  of  using  them,  such  as  the  stils  de  grain^  the  carminated 
or  cochineal  lakes.  Mineral  Yellow,  etc.,  he  specifies  Mummy, 
which  he  says,  though  quite  in  vogue,  stands  neither  air  nor  sun- 
shine, dries  with  even  more  difficulty  than  Asphaltum,  is  not 
better  as  a bitumen  than  the  latter,  and  is  besides  a fat  body,  and 
finally  that  there  is  nothing  in  its  hue  which  is  not  to  be  obtained 
in  certain  other  really  good  browns.  But  the  author  of  the  Chroma- 
tography, while  in  like  manner  defining  it  “ a bituminous  sub- 
stance combined  with  animal-remains,”  says  that  it  is  “ more  solid 
and  lasting  than  simple  asphaltum,”  “ for  which  it  is  employed  as 
a valuable  substitute,  being  less  liable  to  crack  or  move  on  the  can- 
vas.” Now  let  us  commend  this  passage  to  the  student ; it  is  from 
the  philosophical  writer  above  who  says  so  pithily.  Mummy  is  at 
least  useless : “ The  analysis  of  a mummy  made  at  London  in  1763 
show'ed  that  it  contained  no  asphaltum,  but  a vegetable  resin.  (See 
Philosoph.  Trans.,  woX.i.)  It  is  not  said  whether  naptha  was  found 
therein  concrete  or  soft,  as  has  been  the  case  with  a great  number 
of  mummies.  It  may  be  supposed  that  for  embalming  common 
resins  only  were  employed,  and  that  naptha,  which  is  so  abundant 
in  certain  regions,  must  have  been  devoted  to  the  same  object. 
For  the  rest,  it  is  not  particularly  prudent  to  employ  without  ne- 
cessity these  crumbled  remains  of  dead  bodies,  which  must  contain 
ammonia  and  particles  of  fat  in  a concrete  state,  and  more  or  less 
liable  to  injure  the  colors  with  which  they  may  be  united.”  Ail 
of  this  is  well  suggested. 

Could  one  indeed  obtain,  from  some  true  artist  of  the  forty-three 
years’  experience  of  Bouvier,  part  of  a sample  of  this  brown  that 
had  been  subjected  to  proper,  which  means  also  long  trial,  and  be 
assured  by  him  of  its  excellence,  he  would  be  right  to  use  it, — 
though  evp’-  <^hen.  could  we  have  offered  to  us  at  the  same  time  a 
lump  of  genuine  ^.s,.  ..altum,  from  the  Dead  Sea  itself,  we  should 
take  the  latter  at  once  m preference,  knowing  precisely  what  it 


COLORS  IN  USE. 


57 


the  Hacks  of  charcoal  are  solid.  S?noke-hIack*  is  to  ])e 
rejected.” 

Thus  concludes  the  account,  more  or  less  full  arid  ex- 
plicit according  to  occasion,  of  all  the  pigments  used  in  oil, 
and  even  some  others,  that  the  student  will  find  upon  the  lists 
of  our  colormen,  with  the  exception  of : Emerald  Green, 
which  is  said  to  be  more  durable  than  the  generality  of  cop- 
per-greens to  which  it  belongs,  but  is  better  suited  fci  watei 
than  oil ; Green  and  Blue  Verditer,  which  are  also  of  copper, 
the  green  being  merely  the  blue  oxide  changed  by  boiling ; 
King^s  Yellow,  which  is  another  name  for  yellow  orpiment ; 
Chinese  Yellow,  which  is  Chinese  orpiment ; and  Patent 
Yellow,  which  is  a muriate  of  lead, — a bad  pigment.  In  old 
books  Bice,  both  Blue  and  Green,  is  of  constant  mention 
among  the  paints  in  use.  The  latter  is  the  same  as  Green  Ver- 
diter  ; while  Blue  Bice,  or  Bice  simply,  when  not  a copper- 
blue  (as  for  example  Blue  Verditer,  which  has  been  made  to 
bear  the  name),  is  thought  to  be  a product  of  the  lapis  Arme- 
nius  of  Germany  and  the  Tyrol.  These  names  do  not  occur, 
we  think,  in  our  catalogues.  Finally,  there  is  another  green, 
which  with  the  common  confusion  of  terms  made,  perhaps  not 

was  ; but  inasmuch  as  from  their  very  nature  or  origin  the  various 
specimens  of  Mummy-Brown  must  differ  more  or  less,  there  is  not 
the  least  reliance  to  be  placed  upon  them  : one  is  in  the  dark  as  to 
his  materials,  and  can  predict  nothing  with  even  ordinary  certainty 
as  to  the  result  of  their  employment.  It  is  therefore  that  we  our- 
selves, though  quite  enamored  of  experiment,  have  never  yet  felt 
the  least  desire  to  essay  this  pigment,  seeing  nothing  to  be  gained 
by  smearing  our  canvas  with  a part  perhaps  of  the  wife  of  Potiphar, 
that  might  not  be  as  easily  secured  by  materials  less  frail  and  of 
more  sober  character.  However  there  is  this  to  add,  in  order  to  say 
all ; viz.  that  the  student  can  obtain  genuine  Egyptian  mummy  at 
our  colorshops,  but  he  cannot  purchase  real  Arabic  asphaltura. 
See  Chapter  XV  ; the  notes. 

* See  p 40,  previous. 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


undesignedly,  by  colormakers,  bears  the  same  name  with 
the  Emerald  Green  above,  but  is  a paltry  pigment  mado 
of  coffee-berries.  It  is  also  known,  or  a green  of  the  same 
origin,  by  the  distinct  but  even  vaguer  designation,  Vetu 
Uan  Green, 


METHODS  OF  MAKING  CERTAIN  COLORS,  ETC.  59 


CHAPTER  VI. 

METHODS  OF  MAKING  CERTAIN  COLORS  THAT  ARE  NOT  TO  BE 
OBTAINED  AT  THE  SHOPS,  BUT  YET  ARE  INDICATED  IN  THE 
PRECEDING  CHAPTERS. 

BROWN  OF  PRUSSIAN  BLUE. 

Put  an  iron  spoon  upon  a bright  clean  fire,  and  when 
the  spoon  is  red  hot,  throw  into  it  some  pieces  of  your 
Blue,  about  the  size  of  a small  filbert,  or  cherrystone. 
Almost  immediately  they  will  break  into  scales,  or  small 
grains,  and  in  a few  minutes  will  become  red-hot.  With- 
draw the  spoon  and  let  it  cool.  If  left  longer  on  the  fire, 
the  true  color  will  not  be  obtained.  When  broken  up,  some 
parts  will  be  found  blackish,  and  others  yellowish-brown : 
this  is  just  as  it  should  be.  Grind  the  whole  together, 
which  is  done  with  the  lightest  effort,  and  you  have  a fine 
soft  powder  that  mixes  admirably. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  Bouvier  himself,  who  gave  this 
process  to  the  world,  tells  us  that  it  does  not  always  suc- 
ceed, and  we  have  already  hinted,  that  ourselves,  with 
the  Blue  purchased  at  Dechaux’s,  did  not  obtain  the  listre 
or  asphalt  color,  which  was  wanted,  (though  we  have  since 
succeeded).  It  depends,  says  Bouvier,  on  the  different  quali- 
ties of  the  Blue,  on  the  degree  of  heat  applied,  and  even 
on  the  state  of  the  atmosjjhere  ! Therefore,  it  will  be  seen, 
that  it  is  a most  uncertain  operation.  Yet,  as  its  author 
says,  though  the  diverse  hues  which  one  obtains  be  more 
red,  more  greenish,  or  more  blackish  than  desired,  the  ex* 


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periments  are  not  lost,  the  results  being  always  useful  for 
many  cases. 

This  operation  is  always  to  be  performed  on  the  open 
fire  ; otherwise  a black  is  obtained,  as  we  will  now  show. 

BLACK  OF  PRUSSIAN  BLUE. 

The  same  blue  as  before  (that  is,  good,  ordinary  blue ; 
not  the  English  ; see  p.  29),  broken  to  the  same  size,  is  put 
into  the  iron  box  which  will  be  described  at  the  end  of  this 
chapter;  the  powder,  and  very  small  pieces  being  rejected; 
for  the  black  would  otherwise,  instead  of  being  of  a pure 
and  velvety  shade,  become  reddish  like  soot.  Fill  the  box 
full,  gently  shaking  it,  as  you  introduce  the  grains,  in  order 
to  make  them  settle  as  close  as  possible  to  one  another. 
Then,  without  ramming  or  crushing  the  color,  put  on  the 
cover,  lute  it  well  with  potters’  clay  (which  is  procured 
without  difficulty  at  any  pottery),  so  that  no  portion  of  the 
iron  shall  remain  uncovered.  The  clay  being  carefully 
dried,  before  the  fire,  or  in  the  sun,  the  box  is  put  into  a 
clear  fire  and  made  red-hot.  For  this  purpose  our  grates 
of  native  coal  appear  to  be  well  suited,  from  the  absence 
of  flame.  When  the  whole  box  is  of  a bright  red,  take  it 
from  the  fire,  but  with  caution, — ^that  the  coat  of  clay  may 
not  be  disturbed  by  the  pincers, — and  let  it  cool.  The 
black  is  made.  But  before  you  open  the  box,  take  care 
to  remove  every  particle  of  the  clay  from  the  cover,  as  you 
would  the  wax  from  a bottle  of  fine  wine,  and  by  the  same 
method,  but  even  more  cautiously,  for  it  is  evident  that  the 
least  particle  entering  would  spoil  the  color. 


METHODS  OF  MAKING  CERTAIN  COLORS,  ETC. 


61 


THE  BROWN  OF  PRUSSIAN  BLUE,  NO.  20. 

(a  golden  yellowish  brown.) 

This  is  made,  as  we  have  said,  with  the  English  sort : 
which  you  reduce  to  a tolerably  fine  powder,  and  put  into 
a small  crucible,  covering  it,  but  without  luting,  and  ap~ 
ply  to  it  a very  powerful  heat,  for  fear  there  should  remain 
some  black  particles  in  your  powder,  which  would  spoil  its 
fine  color. 

A golden  ochre  will  then  be  obtained,  infinitely  finer  than 
any  that  can  be  procured.  It  is  a superb  orange-yellow, 
that  dries  well,  and  is  very  light  and  transparent. 

COFFEE-BLACK. 

Fill  completely  (so  that  the  cover  touches  the  contents) 
the  iron  box  already  mentioned,  with  well  dried  and  pure 
grounds  of  coffee,  crowding  down  the  powder  as  you  fill 
the  box.  Proceed  then,  luting,  &;c.,  as  in  the  operation 
for  Prussian  Black.  As  the  box  becomes  hot,  you  will 
perceive  to  issue  from  it,  despite  the  iron  and  the  clay, 
bluish  sparks,  which  will  escape  from  every  part  as  if  they 
were  shot  forth  by  pipes:  these  are  the  residue  of  the 
essential  oil  of  the  coffee,  which  escapes  despite  the  obsta- 
cles, and  takes  fire  immediately.  It  is  when  this  appear- 
ance has  ceased,  and  the  box  is  all  a bright  red,  that  you 
remove  it,  and  proceed  as  before  with  the  Black  of  Prus- 
sian Blue. 

This  black  of  coffee  is  so  fine,  that  it  will  seem  fit  to 
mix  at  once  with  oil,  or  with  water.  But  there  is  a pre- 
caution to  be  taken  with  this  as  with  all  the  colors  made 
by  fire  : they  must  be  washed  with  boiling  water,  and  with 
several  waters,  until  the  salts  they  contain  are  separated, 


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which  is  easy  to  be  known  by  the  water  communicating 
no  longer  any  taste  to  the  mouth.  You  decant  the  water, 
gather  the  color  and  dry  it ; and  you  will  obtain  it  in  the 
form  of  powder.  In  order  to  prevent  the  powder,  whether 
of  this  or  of  the  other  blacks  that  are  of  great  lightness,  from 
floating,  drop  upon  it,  before  adding  the  water,  a few  drops 
of  alcohol,  and  make  it  into  a paste. 

“ Were  the  colormen  ” (adds  M.  Bouvier — and  we 
translate  the  observation  as  worthy  of  note)  “ to  take  the 
precaution  of  carefully  washing  the  colors  which  they 
vend,  though  they  had  therefore  to  set  a higher  price  upon 
them,  artists  would  not  have  the  vexation  of  seeing  their 
works  so  soon  alter.”  Undoubtedly  this  is  one  cause  of 
deterioration ; though  not  the  only  one ; for  we  will  find 
such  instances  as  this  which  the  writer  has  now  in  mind, 
it  having  been  presented  to  his  own  observation,  viz.  where 
two  artists,  one  of  them  of  ten  times  more  experience  than 
the  other,  but  doubtless  of  less  artistic  talent  and  less 
tact,  and  it  may  be  less  instructed,  having  bought  their 
pigments  at  the  very  same  shop,  and  used  the  very  same 
oils,  and  painting  similar  subjects  (small  cabinet  pictures 
of  women  and  children),  on  precisely  similar  subjectiles, 
the  picture  of  the  experienced  artist  changed  in  six  months ! 
very  sensibly,  and  it  keeps  undergoing  still  this  change, 
which  is  principally  in  the  carnations,  while  that  of  the 
other,  who  was  in  fact  a mere  novice,  remains  now,  just  as 
it  should  be  after  so  very  brief  a lapse  of  time  as  three 
years,  as  fresh  as  on  the  day  it  was  first  painted.  And 
thus  it  will  be,  and  has  been  always,  that  different  work- 
men, using  precisely  the  same  materials,  will  produce  re- 
sults that  greatly  differ  in  the  point  of  excellence.  Never- 
theless, by  raising  the  price  of  their  colors,  the  manufac- 
turers would  be  able  to  bestow  more  care  upon  their  fabri* 


METHODS  OF  MAKING  CERTAIN  COLORS,  ETC. 


63 


cation  and  preparation ; and  nothing  can  be  so  much  de- 
sired in  the  art ; for  artists  cannot  or  will  not,  but  very 
few  of  them  at  least,  go  through  these  processes  of  the 
colormen,  themselves. 


CORK-BLACK. 

Choose  new  and  very  fine  corks.  Cut  them  lengthwise, 
not  across,  in  eight  strips  each ; these  long  strips  will 
fit  better  to  the  box,  and  leave  less  void  than  round  slices. 
Make  them  into  compact  bundles,  binding  these  together 
with  a bit  of  white  thread.  These  bundles  are  to  be  made 
of  the  same  dimension  as  the  interior  diameter  of  the  box, 
and  as  the  cork  is  very  elastic,  they  are  to  be  forced  in 
by  the  aid  of  a wooden  roller.  The  first  bundle  placed 
in  due  position,  you  will  put  on  top  of  it  another  bundle, 
and  so  on,  until  the  box  is  exactly  filled.  It  is  essential  to 
crowd  and  force  in  these  bundles,  because  it  being  the  na- 
ture of  cork  to  diminish  in  volume  by  the  action  of  fire, 
more  than  any  other  substance,  we  must  manage  so  that 
there  should  be  the  least  space  possible  left  vacant,  lest  the 
pigment  should  burn  in  part,  and  be  spoiled  by  the  mixture 
of  the  cinders. 

The  rest  of  the  operation  is  similar  to  what  has  been 
described  before. 

Form  and  dimensions  of  the  Iron  Box  used  in  burning 
different  colors. 

The  best  proportion  is  said  to  be  as  follows,  though  the 
box  may  be  more  or  less  large  : — a hollow  cylinder  of 
sheetiron,  a line  (or  twelfth  part  of  an  inch)  in  thickness, 
cf  the  form  of  a very  small  stovepipe  ; the  sheetiron  to 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


be  very  smooth  and  uniform  on  the  side  that  is  to  be  the 
interior  of  the  vessel.  It  is  to  be  joined  by  good  nails 
well  riveted  on  both  sides,  and  in  such  a manner  that  it 
will  contain  water  without  leaking.  To  this  cylinder  give 
two  inches  and  a half  diameter,  by  six  inches  of  length. 
One  of  the  ends  will  be  secured  by  a fixed  and  tight  bot- 
tom, the  other  will  have  a cover  fitting  well,  like  that  of  a 
snuffbox ; the  cover,  moreover,  lapping  over  on  the  rim 
of  the  box  about  an  inch.  Too  thin  a plate  is  not  to  be 
used,  still  less  tin  plate,  which  would  be  worth  nothing  for 
this  purpose ; and  above  all,  care  is  to  be  taken  against 
rust. 

A crucible  might  be  used,  with  the  cover  luted ; but 
crucibles  are  apt  to  break : the  iron  box  is  preferable. 


MANNER  OF  BURNING  LAKE  OR  CARMINE. 


65 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MANNER  OF  BURNING  VENICE  LAKE  OR  CARMINE,  TO  DEEPEN 

THEIR  TONE  AND  ADD  SOLIDITY, ^AN  INVENTION  OF  MR. 

bouvier’s. 

The  method  of  procuring  the  color.  No.  11  (see  pp.  20,  21,  - 
where  its  properties  have  been  fully  described),  and  which 
De  Montabert  prefers,  following  a more  philosophic  plan 
of  nomenclature,  to  call  Brown  of  Cochineal,  is  as  follows : 

Take  a silver  tablespoon,  put  it  on  the  hottest  coals  of  a 
bright  fire,  and  throwing  in  your  lake  or  carmine  powdered, 
stir  the  latter  continually,  with  a small  stick  of  hard  wood, 
until  the  color  becomes  a deep  purplish  brown  ; then  with- 
draw the  spoon  ; and  throw  out  the  carmine  to  cool.  In 
cooling,  it  diminishes  considerably  in  intensity ; so  that  if 
it  be  found  not  brown  enough,  put  it  again  on  the  fire. 
But  have  a care  that  it  does  not  ignite,  for  this  would  spoil 
it  altogether,  leaving  nothing  but  a bad  charcoal. 

During  the  operation,  an  odor  is  emitted  from  the  cochi- 
neal that  is  abominable.  We  know  not  that  it  is  perni- 
cious, though  Bouvier  cautions  one  against  inhaling  it ; but 
it  is  one  of  the  most  detestable  smells  that  can  be  imagined, 
and  so  little  volatile,  that,  for  hours  after,  the  room  will  be 
untenantable,  though  fully  ventilated. 

The  spoon  will  be  found  to  be  discolored  by  the  process. 
It  is  cleansed,  though  not  without  trouble,  by  common 
whitening,  moistened  with  water,  and  rubbed  upon  it  dili 
gently. 


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CHAPTER  VIII. 

OF  PREPARED  COLORS,  AND  OF  THE  MANNER  OF  KEEPING 
THEM  WHEN  IN  QUANTITY. 

With  the  exception  of  TJltramarine,  Vermilion^  Indian 
Yellow,  the  madder-lakes*  and  some  of  the  rarer  and  more 
precious  pigments,  not  in  daily  use,  all  the  oilcolors  are  to 
be  had  in  the  shops  in  bladders,  or  in  tubes.  Silver  White, 
and  other  preparations  of  the  oxide  of  lead,  as  being  required 
in  greater  quantity,  are  usually  put  up  in  tubes  and  “ half- 
tubes,” the  tube  containing  perhaps  a pound,  and  the 
smaller  vessels  called  half-tubes  half  that  quantity.  These 
tubes  are  narrow  cylinders  of  tin.  with  a short  open  pipe 
of  the  same  metal,  soldered  to  one  end,  and  a flat  cork,  in- 
wrapped  in  a bit  of  bladder,  inserted  in  the  other.  Placing 
the  fingers  of  either  hand  upon  the  body  of  the  cylinder 
and  pressing  gently  and  evenly  with  the  thumbs  upon  the 
cork,  the  paint,  which  should  be  of  the  consistence  of  well- 
made  fresh  butter  (a  comparison  of  Bouvier’s),  exudes  from 
the  pipe.f  The  bladders  are  about  the  size  of  an  English 
walnut,  or  of  one  of  our  black- walnuts,  for  pigments  that 
are  much  used,  but  scarcely  half  that  size  for  the  lakes. 
The  greater  part  of  painters,  says  Bouvier,  puncture  these 

* The  common  lakes,  Crimson  and  Yellow,  are  sold  in  small 
filadders  ; but  it  is  better,  for  those  who  will  use  them,  to  purchase 
them  in  powder. 

t Since  the  introduction  of  the  London  white  as  mentioned  on 
p.  7,  these  cylinders  have  given  place  to  compressible  tubes  of  zinc 
with  screw-tops : a decided  improvement 


PREPARED  COLORS,  AND  MODE  OF  KEEPING  THEM.  67 

bladders  with  a nail.  The  nail  is  left  in  the  hole  to  pre- 
vent its  closing,  and  it  naay  affect  the  color  of  the  pigment, 
and,  if  not,  it  will  at  least  help  to  dry  the  latter.  He 
prefers,  then,  to  make  an  incision  in  the  form  of  a cross 
in  the  middle  of  the  bottom  of  the  cyst,  giving  to  each  cut. 
about  the  sixth  part  of  an  inch  in  length.  There  is  always 
thus  a sufficiently  large  outlet  for  the  paint  when  needed, 
and,  when  the  bladder  is  set  down  again,  the  four  sides  of 
the  cross  close  up  entirely  the  orifice.  Should  it  be  left 
then  untouched  long  enough  for  the  incision  to  grow  to- 
gether by  the  drying  of  the  paint,  it  is  easily  reopened 
with  the  point  of  a penknife. 

A bladder  must  always  be  pressed  from  the  top  down- 
wards ; otherwise  the  pigment  mounts  to  the  top,  where  there 
is  a space  empty,  and  dries  there  ; besides  which,  the  risk  is 
run  of  bursting  the  bladder : an  accident,  by  the  by,  that 
will  frequently  happen  to  a young  artist,  manage  it  as  he 
will,  until  by  practice  he  comes  to  finger  the  cyst  pro- 
perly. 

For  those  who  live  in  a large  city  like  New- York,  it  is 
best  to  procure  their  prepared  oilcolors  as  they  want 
them,  that  is,  by  the  tube  or  bladder  ; but  those  who  re- 
side in  the  country,  or  in  petty  towns,  have  not  this  advan- 
tage, and  are  obliged  either  to  prepare  their  colors  them- 
selves from  the  dry  pigment,  or  to  purchase  a double  or  triple 
or  still  larger  assortment  of  bladders,  according  to  their 
occasions  and  convenience.  To  such,  a sure  means  of 
keeping  their  reserved  stock  fresh  cannot  but  be  accepta- 
ble ; and  we  should  judge  that  the  following  methods,  as 
drawn  from  the  instructions  of  the  excellent  and  amiable 
Bouvier,  might  be  relied  on  with  perfect  confidence. 

Boxes  of  tin,  such  as  are  the  ordinary  colorboxes,  or 
even  those  lined  with  tin,  are  apt  to  dry  the  paints.  If  you 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILFAINTINO. 


have  then  double  or  triple  sets  of  prepared  oilcolors,  en. 
close  those  you  shall  not  want  for  some  time,  in  a tight 
box  of  wood,  which  again  is  to  fit  in  another  box  of  like 
material.  Place  this  double  box  in  a dry,  dark,  and  close 
closet,  or  in  the  drawer  of  a bureau.  But  if  you  have  a 
very  large  provision  of  colors,  the  following  plan  will  keep 
them  fresh  for  a year,  or  even  two  or  three  years.  Pro- 
cure a bullock’s  or  hog’s  bladder,  which  having  cleaned 
carefully  by  means  of  water  and  a gentle  use  of  the  fingers 
so  as  not  to  tear  it,  take  such  a portion  as  you  want,  and, 
having  dried  it  with  like  care  upon  a napkin,  enclose  in  it 
all  your  bladders  of  color  that  you  would  lay  aside,  and 
having  tied  this  exterior  sack  with  great  care,  so  that  no 
fluid  can  gain  admittance,  immerse  it  in  a glazed  earthen 
vessel  containing  sufficient  nut-oil  to  cover  completely  the 
contained  sack,  so  that  for  example  there  may  be  about  a 
couple  of  inches  of  oil  above  its  neck.  The  pot,  being 
then  covered  well,  is  to  be  put  in  a cool  place,  the  cellai 
if  you  will  (provided  it  be  dry),  and  in  the  dark.  Use  foi 
the  fluid  of  immersion  none  but  a painter’s-oil  (linseed, 
nut,  or  poppy) ; so  that  in  case,  by  any  oversight,  it  should 
get  to  the  bladders,  it  could  not  render  them  unserviceable. 

To  these  directions,  it  may  be  well  to  add  a plan  (as  we 
write  for  those  who  have  no  instruction)  for  the  keeping 
of  the  colors  on  the  palette.  Bouvier’s  method  for  this  is 
too  troublesome.  All  that  is  necessary,  when  you  wish 
not  to  throw  away  your  prepared  tints,  is  to  gather  each 
separate  heap  of  color  into  as  small  a mass  as  possible, 
rejecting  all  the  rest,  which  you  will  wipe  from  the  board 
with  a linen  rag  that  deposits  no  lint,  going  over  the  spot 
afterwards  with  a little  oil  and  rubbing  it  quite  clean. 
Placing  then  a wineglass,  or  a small  cup,  or  tumbler,  or 
any  such  vessel,  over  the  heap,  or  heaps  of  color,  remove 


PREPARED  COLORS,  AND  MODE  OF  KEEPING  THEBI.  69 

the  palette  softly  to  a shelf  of  your  closet  or  cupboard. 
There  are  very  few  tints  indeed  that  you  will  not  find  the 
next  day  fit  for  use  ; and  those  that  from  the  imperfect  ex- 
clusion of  air  have  gathered  a skin  upon  them,  the  point  of 
a knife  restores  at  once  to  a proper  state,  sometimes  even 
improved,  where  they  have  been  mixed  too  thin.  If  you 
have  more  than  one  palette,  you  can  transfer  them  to  the 
clean  one  instead  of  leaving  them  on  the  one  of  the  day. 
This  is  less  troublesome,  as  in  cleaning  about  the  heaps  of 
color  you  are  apt,  with  all  your  care,  to  disturb  them. 
Observe  only,  to  transfer  the  tints  in  the  same  order  that 
they  occupy  on  the  first  palette. 

By  wrapping  a wet  rag  close  about  the  edge  of  the  in- 
verted vessel  (in  which  case  you  will  use  of  course  a plate 
or  an  earthen  palette  for  receiving  the  colors),  and  keeping 
the  rag  constantly  moist,  you  may  preserve  a lake,  or  any 
other  pigment  that  is  very  slow  of  drying,  for  weeks  to- 
gether without  deterioration. 


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CHAPTER  IX. 

OF  THE  DIFFERENT  OILS  USED  AS  VEHICLES  01  COLOR. 

As  it  is  chiefly  owing  to  the  carbonization  of  the  oils  that 
the  colors  they  are  mixed  with  undergo  those  lamentable 
changes  which  the  lapse  of  a greater  or  less  number  of 
years  produces  more  or  less  in  all  oilpaintings,  we  should 
gladly  enter  into  some  detail  upon  this  subject,  and  submit 
to  the  young  artist  and  the  amateur  some  of  the  various 
reasonings  and  observations  which  have  been  made  upon 
the  use  of  oils  both  by  painters  and  chemists ; but  the 
limits  prescribed  to  a compend  of  the  art,  leave  us  but  space 
for  the  briefest  of  descriptions  ; a constraint  the  more  to  be 
regretted  that  we  have  at  our  very  hand  the  means  of  im- 
parting much  valuable  and  certainly  interesting  informa- 
tion on  this  special  topic.  In  few  words  then  : 

Of  the  three  fixed-oils  considered  most  proper  for  the 
purposes  of  painting,  to  wit,  Foppy,  Nut,  and  Linseed  Oil, 
the  first  named  is  that  which  since  its  introduction  to  the 
art  has  taken  the  lead  of  all  the  rest,  and  might  be  said 
almost  to  be  the  only  oil  now  used,  certainly  with  us,  both 
the  others,  and  especially  the  last,  having  in  comparison 
but  few  favorers  ; though  Nut  Oil  is  that  which  the  Ita- 
lians adopted,  while  Linseed  had  the  preference  of  the 
Dutch  and  Flemings. 

Foppy-oil  is  obtained  by  bruising  the  seeds  of  the  White 
and  the  Black  Poppy,  and  submitting  them  to  expression. 
The  oil  thus  obtained  lias  merely  a very  faint  straw  color, 


DIFFERENT  OILS  USED  AS  VEHICLES  OF  COLOR.  71 


which  is  noway  embarrassing  ; and  even  this  it  gradually 
loses  by  standing  where  the  light  can  reach  it.  When  we 
say  that  a fixed-oil  is  suitable  for  painting,  we  mean  that 
it  has  the  property  of  drying  perfectly.  That  it  should 
dry  easily  is  a recommendation.  In  this  respect  Poppy- 
oil  is  considered  rather  better  than  Nut,  when  this  is 
simply  cold-drawn  like  itself,  but  not  comparable  to  Lin~ 
seed.  Heat,  while  adding  to  the  siccative  property  of 
oils,  gives  them  a higher  color,  and  likewise  thickens  them. 
Hence  we  have  two  ordinary  objections  to  the  last-named 
oil,  which  when  new  is  of  a reddish  yellow,  and  somewhat 
viscous.  Latterly,  however,  they  have  succeeded  we  be- 
lieve in  extracting  it  without  heat,  and  thus  drawn  it  must 
of  course  be  less  so.  Like  the  others,  however,  it  loses  its 
color  gradually  by  exposure  to  a strong  light ; and  may, 
besides,  be  bleached  by  similar  processes.  It  may  how- 
ever well  be  doubted  whether  the  bleaching  of  his  oils  is 
of  any  advantage  to  the  artist,  for  it  is  a certain  fact,  that 
every  one  may  easily  prove  for  himself,  that  oils,  after 
parting  with  their  color  entirely,  regain  it  at  no  distant  pe- 
riod, and  the  same  changes  take  place  in  their  combination 
with  pigments.  Thus  paint  with  unbleached  oil  and  expose 
the  picture  to  the  air  and  light,  and  it  will  imbibe  oxygen  and 
whiten  as  surely  as  in  the  bleaching- vessel,  while  bleached 
or  unbleached  it  is  equally  sure  to  acquire  color  again 
after  the  lapse  of  some  years.  As  to  the  relative  superi- 
ority and  inferiority  of  the  oils.  Linseed  dries  the  quickest 
and  the  hardest,  but  it  becomes  darkest  in  time,  as  was  ob- 
served long  ago  by  the  Italians.*  Poppy  which  is  the  next 

* This  was  unavoidable ; still,  to  judge  from  their  language,  they 
might  merely  have  had  reference  to  the  immediate  discoloration. 
For  example,  Borghini : “. . .E  dando  i color! , temperati  con  olio  di 
noce  o di  linseme  (ma  meglio  fia  di  noce,  perche  6 piu  sottile,  e 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


best  drier  is  not  so  much  discolored,  while  Nut  Oil,  which 
likewise  carbonizes,  and  takes  a yellow  or  reddish  tint  in 
its  quasi-combustion,  never  hardens  perfectly.  This  fact, 
which  is  now  ascertained,  was  suspected  long  ago,  as  for 
example  by  Montabert,  who  bases  his  argumentative  con 
jecture  upon  the  fact  advanced  in  its  favor  by  the  cele- 
brated chemist  Tingry,  that  it  resists  the  weather  and  tho 
sun’s  rays,  acquiring  body  therein,  better  than  any  other. 

To  the  above  remarks,  which  are  sufficient  to  put  tho 
young  artist  into  the  way  of  deciding  for  himself,  we  have 
now  the  pleasure  to  add  this  interesting  and  it  may  be 
valuable  hint  from  Field,  hoping  that  it  may  be  taken  and 
the  experiment  made  accordingly  : 

“ Whether  an  oil  might  not  be  obtained,  of  a drying 
quality  and  sufficient  strength  for  oilpainting,  which  shall 
have  the  property  of  continuing  permanently  colorless,  re- 
mains for  research  ; yet,  according  to  our  present  know- 
ledge, it  may  be  questioned  whether  oils  do  not  uniformly 
change  in  color  in  proportion  to  their  natural  power  of 
drying ; but  whether  the  oil  of  cotton^  expressed  from  its 
greenish-colored  seed,  in  the  southern  of  the  United  States 
of  North  America,  which  is  of  a drying  quality  adapted  to 
painting,  be  superior  to  other  expressed  oils  in  permanence 
of  color,  etc.,  we  have  not  had  an  opportunity  of  trying.” 

Could  we  obtain  on  this  side  of  the  ocean  an  oil  that 
should  be  unequivocally  superior  to  any  now  in  use  for 
painting,  America  would  have  the  satisfaction  of  contri- 
buting one  addition  to  the  materials  of  the  art  that  would 
fully  counterbalance  all  the  others  that  she  owes  to 
Europe. 

non  ingialla  i colori,  ec.)”. . laying-on  the  colors,  tempered 

with  nut  oil  or  linseed  {but  nut-oil  will  be  better,  seeing  it  is  of 
lighter  body  and  yellows  not  the  colors,  etc.). — Riposo.  lib.  ii.,  c 
202  ; ed.  di  Mil. 


DRYING-OIL  AND  ITS  USES. 


•3 


CHAPTER  X. 

OF  DRYING-OIL  AND  ITS  USES. 

Phis  useful,  but,  when  used  too  freely,  mischievous  prepa- 
ration, is  for  sale  at  all  colorshops  at  a very  moderate 
price.  It  is  made  by  boiling  gently,  in  linseed-oil,  litharge, 
ceruse,  umber,  and  powdered  talc ; of  each  half  an 
ounce,  to  a pound  of  the  oil.  Such  being  its  ordinary 
composition,  though  there  are  other  modes  of  preparing  it, 
we  need  not  look  at  its  dark  brown  color,  nor  breathe  its 
nauseous  odor,  to  be  deterred  from  using  it,  except  where 
necessary. 

It  loses  some  of  its  color  by  age  ; and  is  not  always  ob- 
tained of  uniform  quality.  We  have  had  some  from  the 
colorman’s  which  in  a very  few  weeks  deposited  a con- 
siderable sediment,  and  became  as  light  as  simple  boiled 
oil.  The  probability  is  that  it  had  been  imperfectly  pre- 
pared, and  that,  the  sediment  thus  deposited,  it  was  nothing 
more  than  simple  boiled  oil.  We  have  a portion  of  it  left, 
which  we  poured  from  the  dregs,  and  which  has  become 
useless  by  hardening.  It  presents  exactly  the  appearance 
of  boiled  linseed-oil  that,  by  standing  a very  long  time  in 
the  bottle,  has  bleached  at  once  and  stiffened.  Two  other 
samples  that  we  got  of  the  same  manufacturer  a little 
more  than  a twelvemonth  ago,  have  deposited  a small 
quantity  of  sediment  that  just  covers  the  bottom  of  the 
phials  ; and,  held  up  to  the  light,  they  show  that  the  pre- 
cipitation is  continuing.  It  is  evident  therefore,  that,  as 
5 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


Watin  says,  “the  older  it  is,  the  better,” — provided  it  be 
not  too  thick. 

As  a general  rule  this  oil  is  not  to  be  added  to  your 
pigments  except  as  you  use  them,  when  the  portion  of  color 
you  want  is  to  be  separated  from  the  little  mass  and  brought 
to  another  part  of  the  palette,  where  the  drying-oil  is  added 
at  the  end  of  your  pencil.  For  this  purpose  it  is  usual  to 
have  a small  quantity  in  a tin  cup  of  a conical  shape,  or 
in  a glass  vessel  (either  kind  to  be  had  at  the  colorshops), 
which  is  adapted  to  the  palette,  near  the  thumbhole,  in  this 
fashion.  The  bottom  of  the  cup  (which  comes  usually 
double,  resembling  in  shape  a couple  of  barnacles)  is  bent, 
being  of  metal,  or  doubled  on  itself,  in  the  form  of  a hinge, 
so  as  to  admit  the  edge  of  the  palette  within  its  fold.  To 
secure  it  from  sliding,  or  working  off,  it  may  be  fastened 
on,  when  in  use,  by  a bit  of  soft  wax  (which  is  easily  made 
by  melting  a little  white  wax  and  olive-oil  together,  adding 
to  color  it,  if  you  please,  and  to  give  it  more  consistence 
a pinch  of  vermilion).  Some  artists  never  use  these 
cups ; but  they  are  an  old  contrivance. 

Have  a care  to  mix  as  stiff  as  possible  all  colors  to 
which  you  mean  to  add  the  drying-oil ; and  of  this  dry- 
ing-oil use  only  as  much  as  needful  for  your  purpose,  which 
is  to  facilitate  the  desiccation  of  pigments  that  in  them- 
selves retard  the  evaporation  of  the  ordinary  oils  : a very 
little  experience  will  dictate  the  proportion. 

In  glazings,  in  the  use  of  bitumen,  and  of  the  lakes,  and, 
generally,  wherever  the  color  is  to  be  employed  rapidly, 
the  drying-oil  may  be  mixed  with  the  mass  at  once,  as  you 
prepare  it  on  the  palette 


ORANDl’s  DRYING-OIL. 


75 


CHAPTER  XL 

ANOTHER  DRYING-OIL  ; THE  INVENTION  OF  GRANDl. 

Without  knowing  from  our  own  experience  anything  of 
the  character  of  this  prepared  oil,  we  suppose  we  may  do 
a pleasure,  and  perhaps  a service,  to  some  artists,  by  adding 
an  account  of  it  which  we  translate  from  Montabert,  who 
says  “ it  has  been  approved  in  London  by  the  Society  for 
the  Promotion  of  the  Arts.’’ 

“ Take  bones  of  sheep’s  feet,  break  them  up,  and  boil 
them  in  water  to  rid  them  of  their  grease : put  them  then 
in  a crucible,  calcine  them  on  the  open  fire,  and  grind 
them  to  powder.  Make  with  these  ashes  of  powdered 
bones  and  a little  water  a firm  paste,  which  you  will  roll 
in  the  form  of  a ball.  Having  made  this  ball  red-hot  in 
the  fire,  plunge  it  directly  into  enough  of  raw  linseed-oil 
to  cover  it,  and  let  it  remain  immersed  an  hour.  When 
the  whole  is  cold,  pour  out  the  oil  into  phials,  add  to  it  a 
little  bone-ashes ; let  it  settle  ; and  in  four  and  twenty 
hours  you  will  have  the  oil  clear  and  fit  for  use.” 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

METHODS  OF  BLEACHING  POPPY-OIL,  AND  RENDERING  IT 
MORE  DESICCATIVE  : WITH  A SUCCINCT  ACCOUNT  OF  OTHER 
WHITE  AND  PALE  DRYING-OILS. 

Into  a bottle  of  white  glass  pour  such  a portion  of  poppy- 
oil  as  you  desire,  and  on  top  of  it  twice  the  quantity  of 
pure  and  filtered  water, — observing  that  the  whole  shall 
leave  space  enough  in  the  bottle  to  agitate  the  mixture, 
which  is  to  be  done  once  at  least  in  every  two  or  three 
hours,  especially  for  the  first  week.  Each  time,  after  this 
operation,  remove  the  cork,  and  substitute  a covering  of 
stout  paper,  pierced  with  a number  of  pin-holes,  and  expose 
the  bottle  in  the  open  air  and  in  the  sun.  The  oil  soon 
swims  atop  ; but  the  water  washes  and  purifies  it,  carrying 
away  the  mucous  portion  that  gives  it  color  and  retards 
its  desiccation.  This  mucous  matter  will  be  found  between 
the  oil  and  the  water,  after  the  vessel  has  stood  at  rest  a 
few  hours,  under  the  form  of  a whitish  ropy  froth,  which 
is  to  be  removed  by  adroitly  applying  to  it  a little  hook  of 
clean  white  wood,  once  at  least  every  day.  The  oil  is  to 
be  transferred  to  another  bottle,  and  new  fresh  filtered 
water  to  be  poured  upon  it,  every  two  or  three  days  during 
the  first  month.  Continue  this  process  for  two  or  three 
months,  until  you  perceive  no  longer  any  mucous  particles 
interposed  between  the  oil  and  water,  then  let  it  rest  with- 
out further  disturbing  it,  in  the  air  as  before,  but  not  in  the 
eun  (lest  it  should  become  too  viscid),  and  covered  still,  to 
guard  it  against  dust,  with  the  perforated  paper. 


METHODS  OF  BLEACHING  POPPY-OIL,  ETC.  77 

The  fresher  the  oil  you  employ,  the  better ; Bouvier, 
from  whom  we  condense  this  process,  says  it  should  not  be 
more  than  two  or  four  months  old  at  the  most.  Further, 
the  operation  is  best  performed  and  most  quickly  in  summer, 
because  of  the  long  bright  light,  and  of  the  heat. 

Another  method  of  purifying  and  rendering  desiccative 
the  oil  of  poppies,  is  as  follows,  as  we  find  it  in  another 
author  : 

To  two  pounds  of  the  oil  add  three  of  water,  and  one 
ounce  of  sulphate  of  zinc  (white  vitriol).  Mix,  and  boil 
the  whole  to  the  evaporation  of  half  or  two  thirds  of  the 
water : then  pour  the  whole  of  the  mixture  into  a large 
glass  funnel.  When  the  water  has  separated  from  the  oil, 
let  it  run  out  by  the  beak  of  the  funnel.  A few  weeks 
produces  this  separation  of  the  two  fluids ; and  a gentle 
heat  promotes  it.  The  water  carries  with  it,  as  in  the 
previously  described  process,  the  mucilage  of  the  oil. 

Still  another  method  of  procuring  a white  oil,  of  suffi- 
cient drying-property,  is  simply  to  boil  a fresh  cold-drawn 
Nut-oil  in  a phial  in  halneo  Mariae,  that  is,  immersed  in 
water.  The  operation  takes  an  hour. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  these  prepared  oils  are  necessarily, 
from  the  operation  they  undergo,  more  or  less  viscous. 
They  are  therefore  very  rarely  used  to  mix  with  the 
paints,  but  kept  as  driers  for  the  lighter  colors  that  may 
need  such,  or  for  the  purpose  of  retouching,  in  the  manner 
that  will  be  described  in  the  proper  division  of  our  volume. 

There  are  various  other  ways  of  procuring  Pale  or 
White  Drying-Oil : as,  the  maceration  in  oil  of  simple  li- 
tharge in  the  proportion  of  one  eighth  in  weight  to  the  weight 
of  the  oil ; the  mixture  being  stirred  in  an  earthen  vessel 
over  a slow  fire,  and  kept  there  until  the  scum  it  soon  be- 
gins to  gather  ceases  to  rise.  The  skin  that  then  forma 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


on  the  surface  will  be  precipitated  on  the  removal  of  the 
vessel  from  the  fire,  carrying  with  it  such  poition  of  the 
litharge  as  has  not  combined  with  the  oil.  The  oil  is  then 
poured  off,  and  on  standing  a few  days  loses  a great  part 
of  the  color  it  has  acquired.  Otherwise  the  combination 
may  be  effected  by  simple  though  long-continued  tritura- 
tion. The  mixture  is  at  first  thick  and  yellow.  It  is  left 
to  settle,  or  is  strained  ; and  whatever  color  is  left  will  be 
dissipated  by  exposing  it  to  the  light.  Otherwise  again, 
oil  may  be  made  drying,  and  yet  remain  almost  colorless, 
by  agitating  in  the  phial  that  contains  it  very  small  shot, 
or  filings  of  lead,  leaving  the  phial  open  to  the  air  ; or  even 
by  rubbing  it  with  a leaden  pestle  in  a leaden  mortar 
(easily  made  by  adapting  a temporary  lining  of  sheet-lead 
to  an  ordinary  mortar) ; or  finally,  the  acetate  of  lead  may 
be  substituted  for  the  litharge  as  above.  This  requires 
less  heat  for  digestion,  and  affords  a still  paler  oil,  and  the 
addition  of  coarse  smalt  will  improve  its  color,  while  at 
the  same  time  adding  to  its  drying  properties  and  helping 
to  clear  it  by  settling. 


VARNISHES,  AS  VEHICLES  OF  COLOR. 


79 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ARTAIN  VARNISHES,  USED  BY  SOME  PAINTERS,  OR  FOR  SPE- 
CIFIC PURPOSES,  AS  VEHICLES  OF  COLOR. 

''Iacgilp,  Maguilp,  Magelp,  or  Magilp  (for  we  find  this 
odd  word  spelled  in  all  these  ways).  This  preparation, 
whose  name  is  derived  we  know  not  whence,  is  for  sale  at 
the  colorshops.  It  consists  of  linseed-oil  boiled  on  litharge 
and  mixed,  by  simple  shaking  of  the  phial,  with  half,  or  an 
equal  quantity,  of  strong  mastic- varnish.  It  has  of  course 
considerable  body. — It  is  much  used  by  some  painters,  and 
chiefly  for  retouching. 

Gumtion.  This  abominable  name,  which  we  are  actually 
ashamed  for  the  honor  of  the  art  to  put  down  (see  Dictionary 
of  Terms),  is  applied  to  an  improved  macgilp,  in  which  the 
acetate  of  lead  and  raw  oil  are  substituted  for  the  oxide  and 
boiled  oil.  The  proportion  of  the  salt  is  the  same  as  in 
some  of  the  pale  drying-oils  of  the  last  chapter,  or  not  more 
than  an  eighth  part. 

Italian  Varnish  is  made  of  two  parts  of  linseed  or 
nut  oil,  and  one  part  of  finely  ground  litharge.  This 
latter  must  be  pure : the  presence  of  the  oxide  of  copper 
would  communicate  a greenish  tinge  to  the  mixture.  To 
give  the  proper  consistence,  about  a sixth  part  of  virgin 
wax  may  be  added.  Grind  the  whole  on  a slab  with  a 
muller.  Before  using,  it  is  to  be  mixed  with  mastic- var- 
ni»  I,  to  prevent  its  frothing  under  the  brush. — It  is  suitable 
fi  glazing. 


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English  Varnish  is  a composition  of  mastic- varnish 
and  drying-oil.  M.  Merimee  recommends  that  the  drying, 
oil  be  of  a kind  not  prepared  by  fire,  and  the  varnish  of  a 
full  body,  for  the  reason,  that  the  composition  not  drying 
so  rapidly,  there  is  more  time  left  for  the  operations  of  the 
artist. — This  also  is  often  used  in  glazing. 

Flanders  Varnish.  Take  mastic  in  grains,  and  dis- 
solving it  in  alcohol  by  means  of  a gentle  heat,  let  the 
dissolution  settle,  and  clarify  itself  by  natural  precipitation. 
Add  one  eighth  of  virgin  wax,  fusing  it  with  the  mixture 
in  a water-bath.  The  compound  is  then  to  be  thrown  into 
cold  water,  and  the  spirit  separated  by  working  it  with  two 
wooden  spatulas.  The  spirit  combining  with  the  water 
leaves  the  wax  and  resin  united,  which  you  form  into  balls, 
or  rolls.  These  keep  well  for  almost  any  length  of  time. 
According  to  your  wants,  you  mix  a portion  of  this  com- 
position with  an  equal  part  of  drying-oil,  by  a gentle  heat. 

Or : add  to  a strong  mastic-varnish,  nut  or  poppy  oil, 
in  the  proportion  that  may  be  required,  and  an  eighth  part 
of  the  acetate  of  lead  (sugar  of  lead).  Boil  this  a little, 
and  very  gently,  and  pour  it  into  water.  Stirring  occa- 
sionally, and  renewing  the  water,  you  dissolve  and  thus 
separate  from  your  preparation  all  the  uncombined  salt. 

Oglio  Cotto  (Baked  Oil)  is  merely  nut-oil  baked  before 
a slow  fire,  and  holding  as  much  litharge  in  solution  as  it 
can  be  made  to  retain.  When  used  it  is  mixed  with  ordi- 
nary varnish.  It  has  something  of  the  consistence  of  a 
pomatum.  It  is  praised  by  Merimee,  from  whose  work  we 
abstract  our  brief  description.  But  he  adds  that  it  is  only 
useful  to  those  who  work  very  rapidly  (a  remark  that  may 
be  applied  to  all  similar  preparations,  which  soon  stiffen 
from  the  very  volatile  nature  of  the  essence  of  the  varnish) 
or  for  the  brief  operation  of  glazing. 


VARNISHES,  AS  VEHICLES  OF  COLOR. 


81 


We  have  thus  given  what  we  consider  to  be  the  least 
exceptionable  among  the  many  varnishes  that  have  from 
time  to  time  been  proposed  as  vehicles  of  color.  All,  or 
most  of  these  contrivances,  seem  to  have  arisen  from  the 
miserable  vanity  that  would  ascribe  the  superior  success 
of  the  old  colorists  not  to  greater  skill  and  natural  genhis, 
but  to  a mere  mechanical  operation  and  secret  implements. 
Give  a true  colorist  what  vehicle  you  will,  he  will  produce 
better  and,  we  are  persuaded,  more  permanent  effects  with 
it,  than  one  not  equally  gifted,  though  he  should  have  the 
whole  catalogue  to  select  from,  from  the  glare  of  egg  down 
to  the  latest  nostrum  of  the  day.  The  impasto  of  Correggio 
was  owing  to  his  pencil  and  not  to  his  vehicle,  the  coloring 
of  Titian  lay  in  his  eye  and  his  spirit  unsatisfied  with  me- 
diocrity, and  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  had  he  tried  a thousand 
more  contrivances  than  those  which  British  art  has  so 
much  reason  to  regret,  would  still  have  shown  himself  a 
colorist  in  all  of  them, — superior  in  the  worst  result  to  the 
best  of  those  about  him,  and  only  inferior  to  himself  as  his 
experiments  happened  to  be  more  or  less  successful. 

Holding  such  opinions,*  if  we  notwithstanding  have  de- 
voted space  to  the  record  of  compounds  which  we  our- 
selves have  never  cared  to  try,  it  is  for  the  reason  we  have 
assigned  on  two  previous  occasions  in  this  Part  of  our  book  • 
to  wit,  that  the  young  artist  may  not  be  ignorant  of  such 
materials,  or  modes  of  operation  in  his  art,  and  thus  not  be 
at  a loss  when  he  hears  them  spoken  of,  or  in  the  course 
of  his  studies  sees  them  mentioned.  Further,  he  may 

* In  which  we  are  happy  to  find  that  we  coincide  with  so  man- 
like and  independent  a writer,  having  so  true  a discernment  and 
so  lofty  an  appreciation  of  the  pure  and  brighter  essence  of  the  art, 
as  Mr.  Haydon  {B.  i?.— Lee  cures  &c.  8vo  , Load.  1844).  See  the 
note  on  the  next  page. 

5* 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


wish  to  experiment  with  these  varnishes.  But  it  must  be 
understood  that  we  do  not  recommend  them,  and  that  we 
repeat  the  counsel  already  given  in  the  chapters  on  colors, 
— to  abide  by  the  long  experience,  careful  observation,  and 
manifest  good-faith  of  the  venerable  artist  from  the  pith 
of  whose  labors  our  publication  is  chiefly  compiled.  By 
following  everywhere  where  he  has  led  there  can  at  least, 
we  will  answer  for  it,  ensue  no  danger,  whereas  a devia- 
tion into  pathways  less  explored,  however  it  may  suit  some 
dispositions,  is  almost  sure  to  lead  to  inconvenience  and  to 
involve  in  perplexities,  leading  perhaps,  at  the  end  of  toil- 
some wandering,  to  very  grievous  disappointment.  The 
prudent,  the  timid,  the  cool,  and  the  gentle  of  our  young 
students  will  therefore  do  well  to  follow  these  suggestions  ; 
for  the  bold  and  ardent  they  will  have  no  force  ; and  it  is 
to  these  we  afford  the  chance,  as  above  intimated,  of  ex- 
perimenting for  themselves.* 

* “ It  is  curious,”  says  Mr.  Haydon,  “ to  see  how  imbecile  and 
weak  men  dwell  upon  the  importance  of  their  vehicles,  how  every 
fault  is  palliated  by  the  want  of  some  spirit  or  some  oil,  that  would 
have  done  the  very  thing  aspired  after.  There  is  nothing  young 
men  ‘ lay  the  flattering  unction  to  their  souls  ’ about,  so  fallaciously, 
idly,  and  viciously,  as  this.” — See  the  anecdote  we  have  recounted 
on  p.  62.  The  awkward  artist  there  alluded  to  actually  used  such 
a subterfuge  in  extenuation  of  his  faithless  work,  declaring  without 
compunction  (indeed,  it  may  have  been  to  the  best  of  his  belief) 
that  of  late  years  he  had  not  been  able  to  procure  such  a thing  as  a 
good  color  or  a good  oil.  Poor  fellow  ! yet  there  was  Mr.  Ingham 
as  pure  in  tint,  as  elaborate  yet  tender  in  finish  as  ever  ! 


VOLATILE  OILS. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

OF  VOLATILE  OILS. 

All  the  volatile  or  essential  oils  turn  more  or  less  brown. 
For  other  more  obvious  reasons,  found  in  their  peculiar 
nature,  they  are  scarcely  ever  used  in  oilpainting,  except 
to  dilute  a varnish  that  has  grown  too  viscid,  or  for  some 
similar  necessity. 

The  principal  in  use  are  the  0^7,  more  usually,  now, 
Spirit  or  Spirits,  or  Essence,  of  Turpentine,  the  Oil  of  Rose- 
mary, the  Oil  of  Spike,  and  the  Oil  of  Lavender ; and  the 
order  in  which  they  are  here  presented  is  that  of  their  de- 
gree of  volatility. 

Spirit  of  Turpentine,  by  far  the  most  common,  differs 
considerably  in  quality,  and,  while  the  instrument  itself  of 
falsification  in  other  more  expensive  volatile-oils,  it  is  some- 
times in  its  turn  found  adulterated  (so  it  is  said)  by  a fixed- 
oil.  If  this  be  ever  the  case  in  our  country  it  can  only  occur 
by  accident,  or  through  want  of  cleanliness  in  transferring 
it  from  vessel  to  vessel.  The  sophistication  by  a fixed- 
oil  is  easily  detected,  by  immersing  a bit  of  white  paper  in 
the  essence  and  allowing  it  to  evaporate  : if  pure,  it  leaves 
no  stain  of  any  kind.  But  it  is  to  be  observed  that  age 
will  produce  precisely  the  same  effect,  in  making  greasy 
the  very  best  essence,  and  we  are  therefore  led  to  believe 
that  this  supposed  adulteration  by  a fixed-oil  is  merely  the 
consequence,  as  it  is  the  best  proof  (while  the  essence  is  still 
limpid),  of  its  being  old.  As  the  light  promotes  the  inspissa- 
tion  to  which  it  is  liable  by  age,  it  perhaps  would  he  well  to 


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keep  it  always  in  a black  bottle.'  Highly  rectihed  Spirit 
of  Turpentine  is  perfectly  limpid  and  colorless,  in  fact  not 
distinguishable  in  appearance  from  alcohol  or  water : even 
ordinary  good  essence,  which  is  more  properly  the  Oil 
of  Turpentine,  should  be  free  of  color,  and  of  an  odor, 
though  strong  and  aromatic,  not  unpleasant. 

The  Oil  of  Rosemary  when  pure  is  costly.  Some  we 
procured  at  a French  chemist’s,  in  this  city,  for  the  purpose 
of  experiment,  cost  us  three  shillings  the  fluid  ounce.  That 
which  is  found  at  the  wholesale-druggists’  is  cheap,  and 
little  better  than  scented  turpentine. 

Oil  of  Spike,  or  more  usually  in  trade,  of  Spike-Laven- 
der, to  distinguish  it  from  a medicinal  preparation  of  that 
name  used  by  farriers,  is  derived  from  the  large-leaved 
wild  lavender,  which  grows  in  abundance  in  the  south  of 
France,  in  some  parts  of  England,  and  elsewhere.  It  is 
generally  adulterated,  like  the  last-named  essence  ; by 
burning  a little  of  it,  the  thick  black  smoke  evolved,  and 
strong  odor,  will  discover  the  presence  of  the  turpen- 
tine. Pure,  it  is  one  third  or  one  half  the  price  of  pure  oil 
of  rosemary.  It  formerly  was  in  great  use  by  artists, 
where  turpentine  is  now  employed,  though  in  an  old  French 
treatise  we  find  it  spoken  of  as  peculiar  to  the  use  of 
enamel-painters.  It  is  the  liuile  d’ aspic  of  French  writers, 
and  the  olio  di  spigo  of  the  old  Italians. 

Oil  of  Lavender.  This  is  still  more  expensive  than 
the  oil  of  rosemary,  that  is  when  they  are  both  pure  ; for 
it,  like  the  others,  is  almost  always  adulterated.  The  falsifi- 
cation is  detected  by  rubbing  a few  drops  on  the  hand,  and 
letting  them  evaporate.  The  odor  left  should  be  pleasant 
and  free  from  turpentine  or  spike.  De  Montabert  speaks 
in  warm  terms  of  this  essence,  which  in  his  experiments 
he  found  to  have  undergone  no  obscuration  nor  change  of 


VOLATILE  OILS. 


85 


color  at  the  end  of  fifteen  years.  But  then  it  snoula,  he 
says,  be  always  new  when  employed.  We  had  in  our 
possession,  a short  time  ago,  a very  small  quantity  of  this 
essence  that  was  at  least  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  years 
old.  It  had  not  so  much  body  as  might  be  supposed,  indeed 
not  more  so  than  turpentine  that  has  not  been  refined ; but  it 
was  of  a high  golden  color.  The  author  just  mentioned 
tells  us  the  color  of  the  oil  should  be  rather  greenish  ; and 
this  is  the  case  with  it,  when  perfectly  new.* 

* Mr.  Field,  whom  we  have  so  often  cited  in  the  course  of  the 
revision  of  our  MS.,  which  is  a proof  of  the  estimation  we  put  on 
his  opinion,  says  that  turpentine  does  not  turn  brown  (as  almost  all 
writers  on  oilpainting  maintain),  and  slightingly  passes  over  the  other 
essential-oils  we  have  thought  it  proper  to  give  an  account  of,  with 
merely  asserting,  as  if  it  were  a fact  not  to  be  disputed,  that  they 
have  no  superiority  whatever  over  the  more  ordinary  turpentine. 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

OF  ASPHALTUM  AND  THE  METHODS  OF  PREPARING  IT  FOR  I SE. 

Asphalt  is  a sort  of  mineral  pitch  or  tar  which  rising  li- 
quid  to  the  surface  of  the  Lacus  AsphaltUes  or  Asphaltic 
Lake*  (the  Dead  Sea),  concretes  there  by  the  natural  action 
of  the  atmosphere  and  sun,  and,  floating  in  masses  to  the 
shores,  is  gathered  by  the  Arabs.  The  French  give  it  an 
additional  name  from  the  region  of  the  lake,  to  wit.  Bitu- 
men of  Judcea,  and  with  the  English  from  the  same  cause 
it  has,  but  not  commonly,  the  alias  of  Jews^  Pitch.  A sub- 
stance resembling  it  is  found  in  Neufchatel  in  Switzerland 
and  in  other  parts  of  Europe. 

Asphaltum  is  to  be  obtained,  already  prepared,  in  blad- 
ders, at  the  colorshops,  requiring  nothing  but  the  addition 
of  essence  and  drying-oil,  to  fit  it  for  use  ; but  it  is  best 
for  many  reasons  to  prepare  it  oneself.  From  the  many 
indications  and  directions  of  various  writers  which  we  have 
before  us  we  shall  select  what  seems  to  us  the  best,  only 
admonishing  the  young  artist  that  all  of  these  writers, 
painters  and  chemists,  have  some  objections  with  regard  to 

* It  does  not  derive  its  name  from  the  lake,  however:  it  is  just 
the  reverse  ; the  bitumen  (in  Greek,  asphaltos)  giving  its  name  to 
the  lake  {asphaltitis  limne).  Thus  Pliny  says:  “ Asphaltites  nihil 
prater  bitumen  gignit:  unde  et  nomen  {The  Asphaltic  lake 
produces  nothing  but  bitumen:  and  hence  its  name.)  Hist.  Nat., 
V.  15,  ed.  Berol.,  1766  : 16,  ed.  vet.  It  is  a strange  oversight  that 
a writer  in  the  Encyclopedia  has  committed  in  asserting  that  the 
term  asphaltum  is  derived  from  the  name  of  the  lake. 


ASPHALT  AND  MODES  OF  PREPARING  IT. 


87 


this  substance,  either  of  their  own  experience,  or  of  suspi- 
cion, and  that  therefore  it  will  be  well  in  using  it  to  do  so 
with  caution,  and  even  distrust,  approaching  it,  so  to  speak, 
as  one  would  a friend  of  doubtful  faith,  to  employ  whose 
services  might  aid  him  much,  and  yet  again  might  injure 
him  not  a little.  And  first,  let  us  direct  him  how  best  to 
choose  the  asphalt. 

It  should  be  brilliant,  presenting  when  broken  a glossy 
surface,  smooth,  and  nearly  black.  To  the  requisite  of 
brilliancy,  Pliny  adds  that  of  weight ; lightness  and  little 
lustre  being  indications,  according  to  him,  of  its  falsi- 
fication with  pitch  : (“  Bituminis  prohatio,  ut  quam  maxime 
splendeat,  sitque  ponderosum  ac  grave  : lasve  autem  modice, 
quoniam  adulteratur  pice.”)*  Modern  writers  also  tell  us 
it  is  frequently  adulterated  with  pissaplialta,']  or  maltha,  an 
inferior  and  less  solid  bitumen  used  by  the  people  of  the 
East,  from  time  immemorial,  as  a building-cement,  oi 
plaster.  The  author  of  the  treatise  we  have  so  often  quoted 
gives  this  additional  indication : “ A good  proof  that  the 
asphaltum  has  not  been  sophisticated  is  when,  on  breaking 
it  with  a clean  fracture,  there  are  found  no  bubbles,  and 
the  fracture  presents  besides  the  appearance  of  undula- 
tions ; these  undulations  arising,  in  fact,  from  the  move- 
ment it  experienced  on  the  surface  of  the  Sea,  while  yet 
liquid,  as  in  its  concrete  state  it  retained  that  form  of  crys- 
tallization. If  on  the  contrary  it  has  been  melted  and  so- 
phisticated, it  will  have  taken  another  character  of  con- 

* Hist.  JVat.,  XXXV.,  51,  (ec?.  Berol).  15  {ed.  vet.) 

t The  same  historian  tells  us  that  the  general  name  among  the 
Greeks  for  the  liquid  bitumens  was  (“  ex  argument© 

picis  et  bituminis” — by  reason  of  their  compound  nature  of  pitch  and 
bitumen). — The  only  use  in  the  fine  arts  which  he  assigns  to  the 
genuine  bitumen  was  the  staining  of  statues  (doubtless  of  metal)  by 
the  older  statuaries. — But  we  are  getting  quite  beyond  our  limits 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


texture  on  cooling,  and  its  particles  will  appear  in  a state 
of  disorder. — True  bitumen  should  be  odorous,  and  adhere 
well  together  when  ready  to  melt.”* 

To  prepare  it  for  use, — reduce  it  to  powder,  and  putting 
it  into  a new  vessel  of  glazed  earthenware,  with  sufficient 
of  highly  rectified  spirit  of  turpentine  to  cover  completely 
the  powder,  set  the  vessel  near  a gentle  fire,  and  stir  con- 
tinually (but  carefully,  because  of  the  essence,  which  is 
highly  inflammable),  using  a clean  smooth  stick,  or  an  iron 
rod,  or  the  stem  of  a new  tobaccopipe  that  is  not  colored. 
Have  ready  some  warm  drying-oil,  and  when  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  asphalt  is  effected,  remove  the  vessel  from  the 

* Asphaltum,  The  substances  employed  in  painting  under 
this  name  are  residua  of  the  distillation  of  various  resinous  and 
bituminous  matters  in  preparing  their  essential  oils,  and  are  all 
black  and  glossy  like  common  pitch,  which  differs  from  them  only 
in  having  been  less  acted  upon  by  fire,  and  in  thence  being  softer. 
***  This  pigment  is  now  prepared  in  excessive  abundance,  as  a pro- 
duct of  the  distillation  of  coal  at  the  gas  manufactories. 

Field. 

This  description  answers  perfectly  to  the  only  kind  that  we  have 
ever  been  able  to  procure  in  this  country  ; and  the  fact  that  it  is 
sold  at  the  paltry  price  of  thirty  cents  the  pound,  confirms  the  be- 
lief of  its  identity  with  the  coal-tar  and  concreted  pitch  of  the 
extract.  It  is  quite  black,  exceedingly  light,  of  a brilliant  gloss  in 
the  fracture,  which  is  exceedingly  clean,  presenting,  with  occa- 
sional granulations,  the  very  undulations  described  in  the  text  as 
belonging  to  the  true  bitumen  (and  which  would  easily  arise  in  the 
present  case  from  gentle  fluctuation  as  it  was  cooling),  while  its 
odor  is  very  powerful,  between  that  of  pitch  and  the  exhalations  of 
coal-gas  as  perceived  near  the  gas-factories. 

As  an  additional  caution  to  those  we  have  already  given,  we  sub- 
join this  remark  of  the  ingenious  author  quoted  at  the  head  of  the 
note  : “ Asphaltum  is  to  be  regarded  in  practice  rather  as  a dark 
varnish  than  as  a solid  pigment,  and  all  the  faults  of  a bad  varnish 
are  to  be  guarded  against  in  employing  it.” 


ASPHALT  AND  MODES  OF  PREPARING  IT. 


89 


fire,  and  stir  immediately  into  the  mixture  sufficient  of  the 
drying-oil  to  replace  what  has  evaporated  of  the  turpen- 
tine. Too  much,  or  too  little  of  the  drying-oil,  would,  as 
well  as  permitting  the  solution  to  chill  before  it  be  added, 
cause  the  bitumen  to  collect  into  little  grains.  Attentive 
watching,  while  stirring  constantly  with  the  rod  or  pipe, 
will  guard  against  such  an  error. 

Thus  prepared,  this  pigment  may  be  put  into  a tube 
similar  to  those  which  contain  your  whitelead  (see  p.  66), 
or  still  better  into  a compressible  zinc  tube ; and  thus  it 
will  keep  a year  and  more.  If  at  any  time  too  viscid,  a 
few  drops  of  some  essential-oil  will  suffice  to  make  it  flow 
readily, — “ a thin  essence  of  lavender,”  says  Bouvier  ; 
adding,  “ but  essential  oils  make  the  colors  blacken  a 
little.” 

Otherwise  : the  bitumen  may  be  made  to  melt  in  a simi- 
lar vessel,  placed  on  a gentle  fire,  without  the  turpentine. 
This  and  the  drying-oil  are  to  be  added  little  by  little,  and, 
to  prevent  too  great  fluidity,  a little  wax.  Stir  as  before, 
avoiding  ebullition. 

Another  method  is  the  following,  which  we  find  in  seve- 
ral authors,  copied,  as  far  as  we  know,  from  Merimee : 


15  parts- 

—Venice  Turpentine 

60  “ 

Gum  Lac : 

90  » 

Asphaltum : 

240  “ 

Drying- Oil : 

30  “ 

White  Wax, 

The  lac  is  dissolved  in  the  turpentine  by  portions,  waiting 
each  time  till  the  portion  be  dissolved  before  a new  one  be 
added.  Then  the  asphalt  is  added,  and  in  a similar  way. 
Meanwhile  the  oil  is  heated,  and  when  nearly  at  the  boiling 
point  it  is  mixed,  little  by  little,  with  the  melted  bitumen. 
Finally  the  wax  is  added  before  the  bitumen  chills.  The 


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whole  is  then  poured  out  on  a slab,  and  worked  together 
with  the  muller  or  knife. 

This  preparation,  which  dries  promptly,  may  be  kept  in 
a tube  as  the  other.  We  are  inclined,  however,  to  distrust 
the  wax.  Finally, 

The  more  ordinary  mode  of  preparing  bitumen  is  simply 
dissolving  it  in  spirit  of  turpentine,  which  makes  almost  a 
paste.  To  render  it  fit  for  the  palette  some  varnish  is 
added,  as  mastic,  or  the  Italian  varnish. — And  yet  once 
more,  it  may  be  ground  in  water  to  a fine  powder,  dried, 
and  mixed  with  pure  drying-oil  as  occasion  requires. 


WCTURE-VARNISH. 


dl 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

VARNISH  FOR  PICTURES,  WHEN  FINISHED. 

The  only  varnish  we  may  say,  that  is  now  used  for  this 
purpose,  is  mastic  dissolved  in  rectified  spirit  of  turpentine ; 
all  others  being  objectionable  either  from  the  difficulty  of 
removing  them  when  necessary, — such  are  spirit- varnishes, 
that  is,  those  which  are  prepared  with  alcohol,* — or  from 
their  color  and  hardness  combined,  as  the  oil-varnishes 
which  were  frequently  employed  in  earlier  times, — a fa- 
miliar kind  of  which  is  Copal- varnish. 

Gum  or  rather  Resin  Mastic,  which  comes  to  us  from 
the  Levant  in  the  form  of  tears,  dissolves  very  readily  in 
spirit  of  turpentine  by  the  application  of  a gentle  heat, 
either  of  the  sun,  in  summer,  or  of  a water  or  sand  bath, 

* There  has  been  of  late  years  introduced,  in  England,  a new 
spirit-varnish  of  great  hardness  and  brilliancy,  that  is  made  of  the 
lac-resin  of  India,  purified,  and  freed  of  all  coloring-matter.  We 
have  read  much  in  its  praise,  but  nothing  that  convinces  us  of  its 
necessity  or  advantage,  either  to  the  finished  picture  or  to  the  palette 
of  the  painter.  If  we  mistake  not  we  saw  a box  of  this  whitened 
lac,  not  very  long  since,  at  our  principal  colorman’s.  Whether  it 
has  yet  been  manufactured  into  varnish,  we  have  forgotten  altogether 
to  inquire.  There  was  only  a boy  in  the  shop  at  the  time,  who 
knew  nothing  about  it ; but  we  broke  a piece,  and  chev/ed  a small 
portion,  and  concluded,  from  all  of  its  qualities  that  we  could  then 
discover,  that  it  was  a colorless  lac.  The  occasion  that  took  us 
thither,  directly  turning  our  attention  from  it,  it  passed  altogethef 
from  our  mind,  until  now  recalled. 


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or  finally  by  standing  it  near  a fire  in  a vessel  stopped,  but 
not  close.  But  it  is  obtained  at  the  colorman’sof  the  finest 
quality,  and  at  very  moderate  prices  ; so  that  there  is  no 
object  in  preparing  it  oneself. 

Of  the  mode  of  applying  it  to  the  picture,  and  of  re- 
moving it  when  old,  'we  shall  discourse  in  the  proper  place. 


THE  OILPAINTER’s  BRUSHES. 


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CHAPTER  XVII. 

OF  PENCILS  AND  BRUSHES,  AND  HOW  TO  CHOOSE  THEM. 

Like  the  French,  we  usually  reserve  the  term  'pencil  for 
the  smaller  kind  of  brushes,  while  the  larger  almost  ex- 
clusively bear  the  latter  name,  though  some  of  them  are 
sometimes  likewise  called  tools*  The  Italians  have  but 
one  word,  pennello.  The  choice  of  his  pencils  and  brushes 
is  of  much  importance  to  the  artist,  inasmuch  as  the  most 
skilful  hand  may  be  thwarted  by  an  imperfect  implement. 
Hence  in  selecting  them  at  the  shops  he  should  take  care 
that  his  pencils  are  strongly  as  well  as  neatly  made, 
that  they  have  not  been  cut  by  the  scissors  at  the  end, 
but  retain  that  soft  and  exquisitely  fine  part  (called  by  the 
F rench  la  Jleur  du  poil)  which  is  scarcely  visible,  unless 
held  before  the  light,  but  which  is  essential  to  the  pencil’s 
forming  a true  point, — that  they  are  elastic,  springing  back 
to  their  form  after  being  pressed  a moment  on  the  point, 
and  finally  that  they  do  not  helly  at  the  insertion.  Pencils 
whose  hairs  when  used  divaricate,  and  form  several  points 
or  ends,  are.  it  need  not  be  said,  worthless.  Even  in  the 
brushes,  and  in  the  flat  pencils,  though  they  do  not  taper 
to  that  conical  extremity  which  we  call  a point,  yet  they 

* Thus  Bardwelh  in  his  treatise  on  painting  (1756-73),  speaks 
of  a hog-tooly  for  a brush  of  bristles,  an  odd  phrase  in  sound,  though 
as  proper  as  badger-tool,  fitch  and  sable  pencila  The  brushes 
used  by  houseuainters  for  the  sashes  of  windows  are  invariably  de 
■ignated  as  sash-tools,  and  they  are  so  invoiced  and  inventoried  by 
those  who  deal  in  them. 


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are  not  to  separate  into  many  points.  Such  defective  im. 
plements  will  be  thrown  aside,  unless  reserved  by  economy 
for  such  parts  of  the  picture  as  they  cannot  injure. 

The  pencils  used  for  oilpainting  are  either  of  the  hair 
of  the  sable,  {mustela  zihelina  ; a species  of  weasel),  and 
these  are  of  a reddish  or  yellowish  brown  more  or  less 
dark  ; or  of  the  fitchet  (the  “ fitchew  ” of  Shakspeare  ; the 
'polecat,  or  foumart,  foul  or  stinking  martin,  the  mustela 
putorius  of  Linn. — another  species  of  weasel),  which  kind 
are  black  in  color,  firm  yet  soft,  and  are  usually  called 
fitches ; or  of  goatshair,  which  are  snow-white ; or 
finally  of  fine  white  bristles.  All  these  kinds,  except  the 
third,  are  to  be  had  flat  as  well  as  round,  or  rather,  conical. 
And  of  all  these  kinds  the  sahle  is  necessarily  the  dearest, 
because  of  the  rarity  of  the  animal,  whose  tail  furnishes 
the  hair.  But  it  may  be  also  considered  the  best,  because 
it  is  by  far  the  most  elastic. 

Brushes  are  usually  of  white  hogs’  bristles  ; they  are 
also  made  of  the  hair  of  the  fitchet,  and  of  that  of  the 
badger  (or  hrock  ; the  ursus  meles  of  Linn.,  and  taxus  m, 
of  Cuvier)  : both  these  last  being  used,  the  former  of  them 
almost  always,  and  the  latter  always,  for  merely  coaxing, 
so  to  speak,  the  colors,  melting  them  into  one  another, 
blending  the  edges  of  the  tints  together,  and  giving  a 
smoothness  to  the  surface ; a practice  by  the  by  which  the 
young  artist  must  be  careful  not  to  carry  to  excess  (see 
Chapter  viii.  Part  iii).  For  this  purpose  these  brushes  are 
never  dipped  into  the  paint.  Brushes  of  badgers’  hair  are 
more  or  less  large,  all  of  them  spreading  more  or  less  like 
a broom  or  duster,  some  of  them,  the  larger  ones  espe- 
cially, and  those  used  for  varnishing,  being  flat  like  a 
whitewashbrush  : the  hair  is  long,  light,  and  pliant,  a dirty 
white  at  either  extremity,  and  a reddish  black  in  the  middle.. 


THE  OILPAINTER  S BRUSHES. 


95 


Fitcnes,  as  we  nave  said,  are  firm,  though  soft.  These  too, 
and  likewise  brushes  of  bristles,  are  to  be  had  both  round 
and  flat ; and  of  various  sizes  : and  all  the  three  kinds,  of 
either  shape,  are  used  for  varnishing.  The  badger-tools, 
used  for  the  purpose  above  indicated,  go  by  the  significant 
names  of  Menders^  softeners,  sweeteners.  The  French  call 
them  simply  Badgers  (hlaireaux) ; and  the  fitch  brushes 
and  pencils,  as  we  do,  Fitches  (putois). 


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CHAPTER  XVIIl. 

HOW  TO  CLEAN  THEM. 

Make  it  an  invariable  rule  to  clean  your  brushes  and  pen* 
cils  at  the  end  of  every  day’s  work.  This  will  save  trouble 
in  the  first  place,  and  aid  eventually  in  keepinj^f  them 
longer  in  good  condition. 

The  established  mode  of  performing  this  disagreeable 
part  of  a painter’s  labors  is  as  follows, — premising  the  ob- 
servation, that  to  save  words  we  shall  use  what  may  be 
called  the  generic  term  brush,  for  both  brushes  and  pencils. 

A complete  paintbox  for  oilcolors  is  constructed  of  hard 
wood  (mahogany  or  walnut  usually)  lined  with  tin.  On 
either  side  of  the  interior,  is  a concave  division  running  the 
whole  length  of  the  box,  and  meant  to  contain  the  brushes. 
Between  these  are  the  bladders  of  colors,  and  two  oval 
cups,  one  of  which  has  a metal  bar,  or  a wire  covered  with 
tin,  that  runs  across  its  top,  in  the  form  of  the  foot-scraper 
at  a housedoor.  It  is  in  fact  a scraper,  to  cleanse  the 
brushes,  and  is  so  called.  Putting  a portion  of  poppy  or 
other  oil  that  you  are  in  the  habit  of  using  into  each  of 
the  two  vessels,  you  dip,  one  at  a time,  the  brushes  you  would 
clean  into  the  one  that  is  armed  with  the  scraper,  and  with- 
drawing them  pass  them  over  the  scraper,  repeatedly  but 
gently,  aiding  the  motion  with  the  pressure  of  your  fore- 
finger, till  you  have  freed  the  brush  of  the  greater  portion 
of  its  paint ; then  passing  it  between  the  folds  of  a soft 
linen  rag  (repeating  both  processes  until  all  the  color  is 


MODE  OF  CLEANING  THE  BRUSHES. 


97 


released),  you  dip  into  the  other  cup,  and,  relieving  it  of  the 
excess  of  the  oil  by  the  aid  of  the  scraper,  you  deposit  the 
brush  in  one  of  the  wide  divisions  first  mentioned,  where 
there  are  two  wires  that  cross  the  hollow  to  receive  it. 
All  the  brushes  thus  cleaned  go  into  the  same  place  ; while 
the  opposite  division  is  reserved  for  the  blenders  and  other 
brushes  that  are  kept  dry.  These  latter  as  we  have  said 
are  never  used  with  paint,  and  what  they  happen  to  imbibe 
is  shaken  off,  or  wiped  off  by  passing  them  backwards  and 
forwards,  but  very  lightly,  over  a stretched  cloth,  or  the 
sleeve  of  your  coat.  Some  use  fine  sand,  which  gathers 
the  color  of  the  blender  into  little  balls  or  grains,  that  are 
then  easily  shaken  off.  The  common  straw  wrappingpaper 
used  by  tradesmen  will  be  found  to  answer  the  purpose 
very  well : from  its  peculiar  fabric  it  has  the  advantage  of 
making  no  lint. 

It  is  evident  that  the  use  of  the  scraper  just  described 
must  wear  the  pencil.  Besides  this,  to  prevent  the  oil  in 
the  brushes  from  growing  too  viscid,  it  must  be  renewed 
(where  they  are  not  used)  every  three  or  four  weeks,  anc. 
even  oftener  in  summer.  Yet  there  is  no  better  process. 
The  objection  made  to  spirit  of  turpentine,  which  does  the 
work  at  once,  is  that  it  crisps  and  turns  up  the  ends  of  the 
hairs,  making  them  assume  the  form  of  little  hooks,  and  of 
course  spoiling  them.  This  is  true  ; but  if  a third  part 
only  of  turpentine  be  added  to  the  oil  in  which  the  brushes 
are  first  dipped,  while  mere  oil  is  kept  in  the  other  in  which 
the  operation  is  finished,  the  process  is  just  as  safe,  and 
somewhat  facilitated. 

Those  who  have  not  the  complete  paintbox,  but  the  simple 
tin  portable  box  mentioned  in  Chapter  xxiv,  can  substitute 
for  the  oval  cups  two  small  tumblers  whose  edges  are  round 
and  smooth : as  with  these  separate  vessels  however  the 
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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


i)S 

oil  is  spattered  over  the  side,  it  will  be  better  to  have 
a tin  cup  constructed  with  a moveable  scraper  in  the  n iddle 
after  the  manner  just  described.  The  scraper  is  made  to 
shift  to  facilitate  the  cleansing  of  the  cup,  when  required. 

With  the  simple  colorbox  last  alluded  to,  the  brushes 
will  require  to  be  dried  as  well  as  possible  on  a soft  linen 
rag,  or  still  better  a thin  white  paper  that  is  not  sized,  be- 
fore they  are  deposited  in  their  place. 

When  .Tom  neglect,  or  other  cause,  the  state  of  the  brush 
is  such  as  to  need  soap,  the  use  of  the  green  soap  prepared 
for  the  purpose,  and  for  sale  at  the  colorshops,  is  recom- 
mended. After  being  cleansed  by  this  detergent,  the  brush 
is  to  be  rinsed  very  carefully  in  plenty  of  clean  tepid 
water. 


MODES  OF  FflESERVING  BRUSHES  FROM  MOTHS.  99 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

HOW  TO  PRESERVE  THEM  FROM  MOTHS, 

The  same  moth  which,  in  its  first  state  as  a worm,  attacks 
woollen  cloths,  feathers,  furs,  &;c.,  destroys  the  painter’s 
brushes,  unless  they  be  very  effectually  guarded  against 
its  ravages.  Bouvier’s  method  appears  to  be  the  best  for 
this  purpose  ; for,  as  he  asserts,  and  as  we  shall  show  pre- 
sently, the  use  of  spices  is  quite  ineffectual.  Those  brushes, 
then,  which  are  to  be  laid  aside,  are  anointed  with  a little 
olive-oil ; of  course,  as  little  as  possible.  This  oil  will  re- 
main undried  as  long,  we  might  say,  as  you  desire.  You 
have  only  to  take  the  pains  to  renew  it  once  every  five  or 
six  months,  to  prevent  its  becoming  too  viscid  in  the  brushes 
you  have  thus  laid  aside.  When  you  want  to  use  them, 
all  you  have  to  do  is  to  express  what  you  can  of  the  oil 
by  means  of  a soft  rag,  and  then  simply  clean  them  out  in 
a cup  of  poppy-oil  according  to  the  process  first  described, 
just  as  if  you  were  cleansing  them  of  paint.  But,  never 
confound,  in  the  same  box,  brushes  thus  smeared  with 
olive-oil,  with  those  that  are  moistened  with  your  painting- 
oil  ; for  olive-oil  does  not  dry,  and  a mistake  might  cause 
you  trouble. 

To  show  how  little  the  moth  regards  pepper,  or  even 
camphor,  we  will  relate  what  happened  to  us  the  past 
season.  Having  removed  to  a new  residence  in  the  spring 
we  had  laid  our  stock  of  new  brushes  in  a leather  port- 
manteau, in  order  to  preserve  them  from  accident  (those 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


we  had  in  use  were  of  course  left  in  the  colorbox,  and 
were  uninjured).  Some  of  these  new  brushes  being  very 
fine,  and  much  prized  by  us  on  account  of  the  perfection 
of  their  make,  we  had  taken  up  some  of  the  clean  linen 
jags  laid  by  in  our  closet  for  the  purposes  described  in  the 
last  chapter,  and  enveloped,  but  loosely,  the  ends,  to  pre- 
serve them  not  against  moths,  but  against  the  injury  that 
might  arise  from  contact  with  other  articles,  or  with  each 
other.  These  envelopes  were  secured  simply  at  one  end, 
that  which  wrapped  a portion  of  the  handles,  the  other  was 
open.  We  laid  these  pencils  in  the  same  part  of  the  trunk, 
with  the  rest,  and  placed  quantities  of  powdered  black 
pepper  all  around,  and  a large  lump  of  camphor.  Certain 
circumstances  had  obliged  us  to  abandon  the  practice  of  our 
art  for  eight  months  from  this  time  ; at  the  end  of  this  pe- 
riod opening  the  portmanteau,  we  found  to  our  dismay 
scarcely  one  of  the  pencils  that  were  not  enveloped  left 
untouched.  One  or  two  of  the  finest  and  softest  were 
gnawed  to  the  stump.  Whereas  of  the  several  bundles 
of  those  we  had  enveloped  in  linen^  not  a single  pencil  in 
any  one  bundle  had  been  attacked ! Remember,  the  ends 
of  the  wrappers  were  all  open  ! — The  size  of  the  piece  of 
camphor  we  had  laid  in  the  trunk  may  be  judged  from 
this  fact,  that  at  this  time,  after  eight  months,  what  was  left 
unwasted  was  as  large  as  a pullet’s  egg. 

Further,  spirit  of  turpentine  is  no  preventive;  for  e 
varnishbrush,  hung  up  in  our  closet  in  the  same  house,  had 
been  attacked,  though  the  odor  of  the  turpentine  and  dis- 
solved mastic  with  which  it  had  been  often  saturated  was 
still  pungent.  Neither  is  the  strong  odor  of  common  as- 
phaltum ; a paper  of  which  we  laid  this  summer  in  one  of 
the  drawers  of  the  secretary  of  a bureau  with  some  choice 


MODES  OF  PRESERVING  BRUSHES  FROM  MOTHS.  1C  1 


new  pencils,  only  to  find  the  smell  of  these  little  creatures 
too  obtuse  for  our  calculation. 

We  therefore  counsel  the  artist  to  adopt  the  plan  of  Bou- 
vier,  as  presenting  the  surest  safeguard.  There  has  how- 
ever been  suggested  to  us  by  reading  a chapter  in  Cennino 
Cennini  another  mode  that  would  probably  be  found  to  an- 
swer, which  consists  in  dipping  the  brush  into  a paste  of 
clay  or  of  pure  chalk,  and  hanging  it  up  thus  incrusted  until 
it  be  needed  or  the  danger  be  over.  But  in  this  procedure 
there  might  be  risk  of  injuring  the  form  of  the  pencil, 
if  at  all  delicate. — This  method  is  prescribed  by  Cennino 
for  preserving  the  hair  of  which  the  pencils  were  to  be 
made.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  to  be  effectually  protected 
from  the  ravages  of  moths,  the  brush  must  be  so  covered  or 
coated  as  to  prevent  the  approach  of  the  insects.  A cap 
of  new  linen  well  secured,  or  a crust  of  oil,  or  earth,  will 
effect  that  object.* 

We  may  conclude  this  article  by  another  useful  item  of 
information  to  the  unpractised  artist.  It  is  not  uncommon 
while  a brush  is  new  to  find  the  hairs  come  out.  The 
remedy  is  simple  : soak  it  for  a few  minutes  in  water;  and 
it  will  never  trouble  you  afterwards. 

* While  correcting  the  proof,  it  occurs  to  us  that  a cylindrical 
tin  box  of  suitable  dimensions,  with  the  cover  at  one  end,  would 
be  effectual  for  protecting  reserved  brushes.  Smeared  or  incrusted 
as  above,  they  may  be  enclosed  in  this  tube  with  double  assurance 
of  safety.  But  such  twofold  precaution  should  not  be  necessary. 
Put  them,  in  time,  into  the  tube,  in  their  simple,  dry  state,  and, 
’ having  pasted  a strip  of  linen  over  the  edge  of  the  cover  (which  will 
be  made  deep  and  tight,  like  the  cover  of  a pillbox,  and  besides 
may  shut  down  over  a bit  of  linen),  you  may  defy  the  moths,  though 
they  were  thick  as  vermin  in  the  land  of  Pharaoh.  We  promise 
ourselves,  by  this  very  simple  plan,  a perfect  security  the  ccming 
feason. 


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CHAPTER  XX. 

OF  PALETTES,  EASELS,  AND  THE  REST-ST.CK. 

Pa  lettes  are  either  oval,  or  oblong  and  rectangular,  that 
is,  in  the  form  of  a parallelogram,  or  what  is  commonly 
called  an  oblong-square.  These  latter  are  the  best  for 
large  pictures,  on  account  of  the  space  given,  by  their 
angles,  for  temporary  mixtures.  In  other  cases  where  one 
sits  nearer  to  the  easel,  these  very  angles  are  in  the  way, 
and  the  oval  palette  is  to  be  preferred.  The  wood  of  a 
palette  should  be  hard,  free  of  knots,  and  as  little  porous 
as  possible.  Of  the  various  kinds  in  use  the  mahogany 
and  walnut  are  the  favorites.  Their  disadvantages  are 
that  the  former  is  brittle,  and  the  latter  apt  to  warp.  Pa- 
lettes of  earthenware  are  too  heavy  for  the  thumb.  They 
are  useful  for  those  artists  who  submerge  their  spare  tints 
under  water,  in  order  to  keep  them  fresh  for  another  day. 

Previously  to  using  them,  wooden  palettes  have  to  un- 
dergo  a preparation  to  prevent  their  imbibing  the  oil  of  the 
colors.  This  consists  in  saturating  the  wood  with  raw  lin- 
seed-oil ; and  the  best  mode  of  effecting  it  is  as  follows. 
After  applying  to  both  sides  of  the  color-board  as  much  oil 
as  it  will  take  up,  it  is  suspended  by  a thread  in  some 
place  where  it  may  have  the  free  air,  but  without  dust  or 
sun.  Here  it  is  left  to  swing  until  dry.  Another  coat  is 
applied  in  the  same  manner ; and  so  on,  as  each  is  com- 
pletely absorbed,  until  the  wood  will  take  no  more.  The 
more  thoroughly  it  is  left  to  dry,  the  better.  When  the 


PALETTE,  EASELS,  AND  THE  REST-STICK.  103 

operation  is  complete,  which  will  take  several  weeks  even 
in  summer,  and  very  much  longer  of  course  in  winter,  the 
palette  is  cleaned  with  a little  fresh  poppy-oil  rubbed  on 
with  a rag,  and  it  is  ready  for  use.  Perhaps  it  might  be 
well  to  add  a few  drops  of  spirit  of  turpentine  to  the  oil, 
in  order  to  make  it  better  penetrate,  and  to  facilitate  the 
drying. — Palettes  are  also  varnished,  and  thus  dressed  are 
to  be  had  at  the  shops. 

Certain  cautions  are  requisite  for  an  inexperienced  artist, 
such  as  we  chiefly  write  for,  viz.  not  to  indent  the  palette  with 
his  knife  in  manipulating  the  colors ; to  keep  it  always 
bright  and  polished  ; not  to  let  his  colors  harden  on  the 
wood.  It  is  advisable  to  have  three  ; two  of  which  to  be 
of  the  same  material  and  proportions,  in  order  that  he  may 
transfer,  as  we  have  before  indicated,  his  prepared  tints  to 
a fresh  palette  at  the  close  of  his  day’s  work  ; the  third 
may  be  smaller,  for  special  occasions. 

As  the  palette  has  been  so  dressed  that  the  porosity  of 
the  wood  may  not  absorb  the  oi]  of  the  colors,  and  thus 
dry  them,  in  like  manner,  to  preserve  this  quality,  it  is  to 
be  cleaned  with  oil  and  not  with  turpentine.  This  is  done 
in  a similar  mode  to  that  described  in  the  next  chapter 
(p.  107)  for  cleaning  the  slab,  only  substituting  here  the 
palette-knife  for  the  muller  and  using  the  hand  to  apply 
the  bread. 

Easels  are  of  several  kinds,  more  or  less  convenient, 
and  of  greater  or  less  cost,  to  suit  the  occasions,  and  even 
fancies  of  artists.  As  they  are  all  to  be  found  at  any  con- 
siderable colorshop,  it  would  be  unnecessary  to  take  up 
time  and  space  for  a minute  description.  Sufflce  it  to  say 
that  the  simplest  and  cheapest  of  all  is  not  by  any  means 
the  most  convenient,  because  the  artist  is  obliged  to  remove 
his  picture  from  the  pegs  or  shelf  in  order  to  raise  or  lower 


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it ; moreover  he  is  liable  to  overset  it  by  the  lea  Jt  inadver- 
tence : whereas  in  the  easel  which  is  fitted  with  a crank, 
neither  this  difficulty  nor  this  danger  presents  itself.  The 
simple  easel  however  presents  the  advantage  of  lightness 
and  portability ; and  the  latter  quality  is  sometimes  in- 
creased by  its  being  so  constructed  as  to  take  apart,  which 
moreover  adapts  it  particularly  well  for  a small  room. 

The  Rest-Stick,  or  maulstick,  as  it  is  sometimes  named, 
especially  in  the  older  English  treatises,  is  a round  staff 
four  or  five  feet  long,  tapering  towards  one  end,  whereon  is 
fastened  a small  ball,  which  the  painter  envelopes  with  cot- 
ton and  a bit  of  soft  leather,  in  order  that  it  may  not  injure 
his  canvas  when  touching  it.  This  stick  is  held  in  the 
left  hand,  near  the  other  extremity,  and  serves  to  rest  the 
right  hand,  when  particular  steadiness  is  required.  It  is 
made  of  various  woods  ; but  lightness  is  a requisite. 

On  occasion,  the  back  of  his  chair,  if  of  suitable  con- 
struction, affords  the  painter  a good  means  of  steadying  the 
right  arm,  while  resting  too  the  left. 


THE  SLAB  AND  MULLER. 


10.5 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

OF  THE  SLAB  AND  MULLER  ; AND  OF  THE  MODE  OF  USING 
AND  OF  CLEANING  THEM. 

Slabs  for  the  grinding  of  pigments  are  either  of  hard  stone 
or  of  glass.  Of  the  former  those  of  porphyry  and  agate  are 
the  most  in  request,  as  being  of  the  greatest  hardness  ; 
porphyry  indeed  has  from  time  immemorial  been  the  stone 
of  the  painters,  and  in  his  studies,  especially  of  the  Italian 
writers,  the  young  artist  will  find  it  of  frequent  mention  ; 
but  the  excessive  price  at  which  a moderately  large  slab 
of  either  porphyry  or  agate  is  sold  has  brought  into  more 
general  usage  those  of  glass,  which  besides  have  for  ordi- 
nary  occasion  certain  other  advantages.  This  glass  is  of 
course  deprived  of  its  polish,  or  what  is  usually  called 
ground  ; and,  as  its  thickness  is  in  proportion  to  the  extent 
of  the  surface,  so  the  price  greatly  increases  with  the  size 
of  the  slab.  One  however  sixteen  inches  square  (which 
we  see  is  the  highest  number  on  the  vender’s  catalogue, 
w’here  they  are  marked  from  four  inches  up  to  sixteen*) 
will  be  found  large  enough  for  all  purposes  ; while  for 
ordinary  use  a somewhat  smaller  size  will  answer.  We 
recommend  however  that  it  should  not  be  less  than  nine 
and  a half  inches ; a slab  of  which  size  can  be  had  for 
eleven  shillings.  On  this  you  can  prepare  your  lakes, 
ultramarine,  and  other  colors  that  you  use  in  small  pro- 

* The  stone  slabs  are  marked  from  twelve  inches  square  up  to 
thirty-six. 

fi* 


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portions  and  that  are  kept  dry,  quite  conveniently  ; though 
an  inch  or  two  larger  would  not  be  amiss. 

In  choosing  a muller^  which  is  a sort  of  flat-bottomed 
short-handled  pestle,  so  to  speak,  of  stone  or  glass,  or 
even  of  that  hard  white  ware  of  which  apothecaries’  mor- 
tars  and  pestles  are  made,  be  careful  to  see  that  the  edge 
is  rounded,  somewhat  in  the  same  fashion  that  we  see  the 
outer  edge  of  the  bottom  of  a bottle,  so  that  when  the  mul- 
ler  is  set  down  this  outer  rim  of  the  circle  is  free  while  all 
the  rest  of  the  base  touches  closely  the  slab.  A muller 
whose  edge  touches  vertically  all  round  the  circle  is 
improperly  constructed  ; the  color  cannot  insinuate  itself 
between  the  bottom  and  the  slab,  and  in  a few  turns  you 
will  find  yourself  grinding  little  more  than  the  bare  glass 
or  stone.  Add  to  this  that  a grinder  of  such  model  sticks 
to  the  slab,  instead  of  being  free  to  move  over  it.  For  the 
porphyry,  the  muller  is  constructed  of  the  same  material, 
either  wholly  or  in  part : for  the  glass,  it  is,  we  need 
scarcely  say,  of  glass,  and  the  rounded  edge  we  have 
spoken  of  should  retain,  if  the  muller  be  well  made,  all  its 
polish,  while  the  interior  of  the  circular  superficies  is 
rough,  or  ground,  and  more  or  less  coarse  in  its  grain  ac- 
cording tcj  the  size  of  the  tool.  We  have  bought  them  of 
excellent  finish  at  the  “ Office  of  the  New  Jersey  Glass 
Works  ” in  Cedar-street.  They  are  also  to  be  had  of  course 
at  the  colorman’s,  and  are  everywhere  sold  ac  'Drding  to 
weight.  The  price  of  one  of  suitable  size  for  the  slab  we 
have  indicated  at  eleven  shillings,  is  two  shillings  and 
sixpence. 

The  motion  in  grinding  requires  no  instruction,  but  vrill 
be  dictated  by  the  commonsense  of  the  young  artist : up 
and  down  the  slab  with  a lively  but  equal  and  dexterous 
motion,  a circular  move  or  two  when  the  color  needs  gath. 


THE  SLAB  AND  MULLER. 


lOI 


ering  back  to  the  centre  of  action,  the  octasiona.  use  of 
the  spatula ; this  is  all.  Only  observe  that  as  it  is  easier 
to  thin  your  color  when  too  thick  than  to  add  fresh  powder 
to  thicken  it  when  too  thin,  you  are  not  to  be  too  liberal  at 
the  outset  with  your  oil. 

In  cleaning  your  slab  and  muller,  after  you  have  re- 
moved all  you  can  of  the  color  by  rags  or  unsized  paper, 
go  over  the  slab  with  a few  drops  of  nut  or  poppy  oil, 
using  the  muller  to  distribute  it,  but  without  bearing  on 
the  muller.  Having  wiped  this  oil  off,  finish  the  rest  of 
the  cleaning  with  crumbs  of  stale  bread,  worked  about  the 
slab  with  the  muller  as  if  they  were  heaps  of  color,  though 
more  lightly.  Then  rinse  both  instruments  in  water  ; if 
the  water  show  by  receding  from  the  plate  the  presence  of 
grease,  take  soap,  finishing  as  before  with  pure  water. 
Should  you  have  suffered  your  paint  to  harden  on  the  slab 
and  muller,  use  turpentine,  and  with  it,  if  need  be,  fine 
sand.  Coarse  Indian-meal  might  be  useful  for  the  clean- 
ing of  the  slab.  But  where  but  little  color  has  been  used, 
as  in  the  mixture  of  a simple  glaze,  there  is  no  need  of 
either  bread  or  meal  of  maize,  if  you  do  not  choose  ; take 
turpentine,  and  finish  with  water,  or  with  soap  and  water, 
always  using  plenty  of  fair  water  afterwards  to  wash  it 
completely. 

We  have  given  the  preceding  directions  merely  for  the 
grinding  in  oil ; the  motion  of  grinding  with  water  is 
different,  being  in  continuous  circles,  beginning  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  slab  and  going  all  round  it,  without 
regarding  the  angles,  with  a rotary  motion  that  is  not 
intermitted,  in  order  to  keep  the  color  in  the  centre.  The 
slab  and  muller  thus  used,  are  more  difficult  to  clean  than 
where  the  pigment  is  ground  in  oil  ; and  Spanish  White, 
or  chalk,  or  pipeclay  must  be  substituted  for  crumb  of 


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bread.  In  other  respects  the  process  of  detersion  is  the 
same,  finishing  with  plenty  of  fair  water,  applied  with  a 
somewhat  coarse  sponge. 

It  remains  merely  to  say,  that  the  table  on  which  you 
grind  should  be  firm,  and  covered  with  a stout  flannel  or 
soft  baize  ; over  which  to  place  an  outer  cover  of  pliant 
oilcloth  will  be  an  obvious  advantage.  You  can  even 
make  this  latter  aid  in  securing  the  position  of  your  slab, 
viz.  by  simply  moistening  it  and  the  under  surface  of  the 
glass.  They  will  then  adhere ; and  when  you  want  to 
separate  them,  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  insert  carefully 
between  them  the  edge  of  your  spatula.* 

* If  we  have  not  described  the  spatula,  under  which  name  we 
include  both  the  ordinary  palette-knife,  and  the  plainer  implement 
known  as  the  English  spatula,  it  is  because,  like  the  easel,  a min- 
ute passed  in  the  shop  of  a colorman  will  suffice  to  make  it  known. 
It  is  one  of  the  first  things  that  will  meet  the  eye  in  the  showcases. 
In  selecting  these  knives,  press  upon  the  end  that  you  may  judge 
of  their  elasticity 


THE  MANNEKIN  OR  LAY-FIGURE* 


109 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

OP  THE  MANNEKIN  OR  LAY-FIGURE  ; WITH  A DESCRIPTION 
OF  A KIND  WHICH  THE  ARTIST  MAY  CONSTRUCT  ECO- 
NOMICALLY HIMSELF. 

The  Mannekin,  or  lay-jigur%  as  it  is  more  usually  called  in 
English,  is  a wooden  doll,  so  jointed  in  all  the  chief  arti 
culations,  that  it  can  be  made  to  assume  and  retain  any 
posture  the  artist  may  desire  for  the  adjustment  of  his 
drapery.  These  figures  come  of  various  heights,  from  ten 
inches  up  to  five  feet  and  over,  and  from  the  care  and  time 
required  for  their  fabrication,  are  all  expensive  ; an  ordi- 
nary one,  not  higher  than  the  larger  size  of  children’s 
dolls,  will,  if  well  finished,  and  of  hard  wood,  cost  from  thirty 
to  forty  dollars ; while  one  of  the  stature  of  life  cannot  be 
obtained  for  less  than  two  hundred.  These  latter  are 
stuffed,  and  covered  with  an  elastic  tissue  of  knit  silk.  The 
ordinary  ones  present  merely  the  naked  wood,  which  is  some- 
times of  black  walnut,  and  resemble  in  every  respect  as  we 
have  said  a wooden  doll,  save  in  the  ingenuity  and  com- 
pleteness of  the  joints,  and  in  the  want  of  a painted  face. 

The  manufacturers  give  directions  for  the  adjustment  of 
these  contrivances,  yet  the  artist  notwithstanding  finds  them 
often  far  less  manageable  than  the  ingenuity  of  their  con- 
struction seemed  to  promise.  They  are,  however,  of  great 
service  ; because  it  is  impossible  to  expect  a living  model 
to  retain  sufficiently  long  the  one  posture  the  artist  finds 
desirable.  Therefore  when  he  has  made  a rapid  sketch 
of  the  drapery  in  pencil  or  crayon,  in  the  folds  that  seem 


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to  him  most  happy,  and  which  are  almost  always  the  result 
of  accident  and  to  be  caught  in  a moment,  he  copies  them 
at  his  leisure  on  the  mannekin,  adjusting  its  little  folds,  not 
with  his  fingers,  but  by  means  of  a slender  stick,  such  as 
the  handle  of  one  of  his  pencils,  or  a still  slenderer  wire, 
such  as  a knittingneedle.  We  say,  after  he  has  made  his 
sketchy  because  the  lay-figure  is  apt  to  be  too  much  used, 
and  to  make  it  the  original  model  is  at  all  times  hazardous. 

Reserving  what  we  may  have  further  to  say  of  the  em- 
ployment of  these  wooden  substitutes,  until  we  come  to 
treat  of  drapery,  we  will  now  transcribe  from  the  Traite 
Complet  (Tome  ix.,  p.  638)  an  account  of  a mannekin  that 
may  be  made  by  the  artist  himself,  or,  which  is  better,  as  it 
will  save  him  time  that  may  be  more  nobly  occupied,  that 
he  can  have  constructed,  at  but  little  cost.  The  author 
who  describes  it  says  it  will  last  many  years,  adding,  that 
he  speaks  of  it  by  experience. 

But  first  we  must  give  from  another  part  of  the  same 
work  the  principal  points  of  articulation  of  the  human 
body,  as  there  set  down  “ conformably  to  the  divisions 
adopted  by  Albert  Durer.”  The  body  is  to  be  considered 
as  divided  into  one  hundred  equal  parts. 

First  come  the  measures  of  the  three  great  divisions  of 
the  skeleton ; the  trunk,  the  thigh,  and  the  leg. 

The  length  of  the  trunk,  from  the  articulation  of  the  arm 
below  the  level  of  the  pit  of  the  neck,  to  the  place  of  the 
hip-joint  ......  28  hundredths. 

From  the  hip-joint  to  the  articulation  of 
the  leg  ......  26  “ 

And  from  this  point  to  the  articulation  of 
the  foot,  at  the  spot  where  it  makes  a fold  in 
front  of  the  leg  .....  21  “ 

The  other  special  points  of  articulation  are  as  follows : 


THE  MANNEKIN  OR  LAY-FIGURE. 


Ill 


Extent  across  of  the  clavicles  . . 18  hundredths. 

Arm  ......  16  “ 

Fore-arm  .....  13  “ 

Hand 10  “ 

Pelvis  or  basin, — that  is  to  say,  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  two  points  of  articulation  .13  “ 

Thigh  (length  of),  from  its  point  of  arti- 
culation to  that  of  the  leg  ...  26  “ 

Leg,  to  the  articulation  of  the  foot  .21  “ 

Foot  (height  of),  from  the  point  of  articu- 
lation . . . . . . 5^  “ 

Foot  (length  of)  . . . .16  “ 

Pieces  composing  the  spine  or  vertebrae ; 
the  first,  counting  from  the  trochanter*  .10  “ 

The  second,  counting  from  the  preceding  6 “ 

The  third  .....  16  “ 

And  the  fourth,  and  last,  to  the  level  of 
the  section  of  the  neck  upon  the  shoulders  3 “ 

Length  of  the  head  . . . 13J  “ 

Taking  the  above  dimensions  for  guide,  have  sections 
of  wood,  cut  squarely,  so  as  to  lap  over  one  another,  and 
be  secured  together  closely  by  a very  strong  iron  wire 
which  forms  the  joint.  The  ends  of  these  pieces  are  to 
be  rounded,  and  the  dimensions  so  calculated  as  to  allow 


* The  trochanters,  greater  ana  less  {trochanter  major  and  tro- 
chanter minor)^  it  is  well  to  inform  the  reader  (whom  we  always 
suppose  to  be  a young  beginner,  or  a simple  amateur)  are  two  pro- 
cesses or  projections  of  the  thighbone,  one  on  either  side  of  its  neck, 
the  greater  being  the  outer  and  higher  one.  It  is  this  latter  which 
is  evidently  meant,  and  this  is  on  a line,  in  a figure  standing  up- 
right, with  the  os  sacrum  or  first  great  bone  (below)  of  the  spine. 
The  parts  are  thus  counted  upwards^  which  is  not  the  practice  of 
English  anatomists. 


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for  the  portion  covered  by  the  overlapping ; and  the  wire 
must  be  of  annealed  iron.  It  would  appear  so  far,  that  the 
contrivance  resembles  those  puppets  of  pasteboard  whoso 
movements,  produced  by  means  of  joints  of  packthread, 
are  regulated  by  the  jerking  of  a string : for  the  rest  we 
will  follow  the  author  literally. 

“ This  thick  iron  wire  (he  proceeds  to  say)  is  to  be 
twisted  into  one  or  two  curls  in  the  middle  of  the  cross- 
pieces where  it  is  incrusted,  so  that  in  bending  the  pieces 
and  twisting  them,  it  cannot  be  displaced  nor  play  in  the 
wood  wherein  it  is  buried  and  secured.  By  this  means, 
you  can  make  the  pieces  or  members  bend  hy  articulation^ 
and  they  will  remain  in  the  degree  or  angle  of  flexion,  that 
is  to  say  in  the  position,  you  may  have  given  them.  A 
wire  of  iron  well  annealed  can  be  bent  and  rebent  hun- 
dreds  of  times  without  breaking, — an  accident  besides 
that  could  be  easily  remedied.  When  the  skeleton  is  con- 
structed,  you  take  new  straw,  and  form  of  it  by  parallel 
slips  the  members,  placed  straight  and  extended  at  length. 
These  members  are  to  be  bound  firmly,  giving  them  more 
or  less  swell  here  and  there,  and  the  straw  is  then  to  be 
cut  at  the  articulations,  so  that  the  thickness  of  the  mem- 
bers may  not  impede  the  flexions.  Tow,  hair,  etc.,  will 
complete  the  model  of  the  forms.  As  to  the  solid  masses 
of  the  body  or  the  middle  of  the  larger  members,  they  may 
be  composed  of  cork  coarsely  rasped  and  united  in  a mass 
with  yellow  wax  and  some  common  resin.  The  whole  is 
then  covered  with  knit  cloth  of  cotton  ; and  a mannekin  is 
obtained  as  supple  as  possible,  and  whose  flexibility  never 
varies,  nor  demands  the  aid  of  keys  or  particular  manage- 
ment. It  is  not  difficult  to  fit  a head  to  it,  and  to  fashion 
fingers  if  desired.” 


PICTURECLOTHS  AND  PANELS. 


113 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

OF  PICTURECLOTHS  AND  PANELS. 

Passing^  but  with  great  regret,  the  various  inforr.iation 
which  we  have  it  in  our  power  to  lay  before  the  young 
artist  relative  to  the  different  kinds  of  subjectiles  which 
from  time  to  time,  from  the  remotest  periods  of  antiquity 
down  to  the  present  era,  have  been  in  vogue  for  the  pur- 
poses of  painting,  as  well  as  the  mode  of  preparing  them, 
we  confine  ourselves  to  the  limits  prescribed  for  our  vol- 
ume, giving  merely  such  information  as  is  necessary  for  a 
student  of  the  art. 

Canvas,  panels  of  wood,  oiled  paper,  and  pasteboard,  are 
the  only  materials  now  used,  at  least  with  any  frequency, 
for  oilpainting.  Prepared  paper  and  pasteboard  are  confined 
to  the  purposes  of  sketches  and  experiments,  as  more  eco- 
nomical than  canvas,  or  are  used  by  landscape-painters 
in  studies  from  nature,  because  of  their  portability.  Paste- 
board, if  anyway  stout,  is  sure  to  warp,  presenting  undu- 
lations on  the  surface,  that  defeat  the  best  skill  of  the 
artist ; otherwise  it  would  have  many  advantages,  even 
over  canvas.  It  is  said  however  that  this  defect  may  be 
guarded  against  by  certain  contrivances,  similar  to  those 
used  for  preventing  the  accidents  to  which  panels  are 
liable. 

Panels,  for  which  various  woods  have  been  used  in 
various  countries,  and  at  various  times,  but  always  selected 
with  care,  to  obviate  as  far  as  possible  the  alternate  giving 


114 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


and  contracting  to  which  by  their  nature  they  are  subject, 
are  now  rarely  used  for  pictures  larger  than  the  cabinet- 
size.  These  latter,  when  the  wood  is  old,  well  seasoned, 
and  hard,  do  not  require  the  same  precautions  that  have 
always  been  thought  necessary  for  larger  panels.  Though, 
where  the  wood  is  of  great  hardness  and  very  fine  grain, 
the  panel  may  be  painted  on  at  once,  it  usually  undergoes 
a preparation,  which,  as  in  canvas,  we  call  its  ground  or 
the  j)riming.  Thus  prepared,  it  is  to  be  had,  of  the  various 
sizes  now  in  use,  at  all  the  colorshops. 

Canvas  is  now  what  may  be  called  the  universal  sub- 
jectile  for  pictures  in  oil . There  is  a fashion  in  these  things, 
as  in  others,  and  you  will  hear  an  ignorant  person  invaria- 
bly express  contempt  for  a modern  picture  done  on  wood ; 
so  that,  even  for  the  size  we  have  mentioned  just  above, 
cloth  has  greatly  the  preference  ; with  what  reason,  it  is 
not  for  us,  in  this  volume,  to  consider.  Canvas  is  sold  at 
so  much  the  square  foot ; that  which  is  twilled,  or  ticking 
as  it  is  otherwise  called,  costing  fifty  per-cent  more  than 
the  plain.  It  is  kept,  ready-primed,  in  rolls  of  various 
width,  at  the  colormen’s,  who  need  but  a few  hours’  notice 
to  cut  it  and  distend  it  on  the  frame  to  any  proportion  that 
may  be  desired.  There  are  however  certain  sizes  which 
have  obtained  for  many  years  among  artists,  especially  for 
portrait-painting,  and  these  are  always  kept  on  hand  at  the 
shops,  ready-mounted  on  the  frames,  or  stretchers.  Certain 
names  are  sometimes  given  to  indicate  certain  of  these 
sizes,  and  as  the  student  may  sometimes  meet  with  them  in 
books,  or  hear  them  mentioned,  it  is  right  he  should  know 
them.  The  Kit-kat  (the  origin  of  which  cant  name  may 
be  found  in  a note  to  one  of  Taylor’s  books)  is  28  or  29 
by  36  inches  ; Three-quarters, — 25  by  30  ; Half  lengiJif-’~ 


PICTURECLOTHS  AND  PANELS. 


115 


40  by  50  ; Bishops'  Half-length, — 44  or  45  by  56  ; Bnh^ 
ops’  Whole-length, — 58  by  94. 

The  use  of  a simple  frame,  without  the  means  of  dis- 
tending the  canvas  that  is  nailed  to  it,  when  it  shall  have 
become  lax,  is  entirely  out  of  date:  what  the  French  call 
Chassis  d clefs,  i.  e.,  frames  with  keys,  are  now  universally 
adopted  for  the  smallest  as  for  the  largest  canvas.  These 
frames  consist  of  four  uniform  pieces  of  deal,  whose 
width  and  thickness  vary  according  to  the  size  of  the  cloth, 
put  together  with  tenons  and  mortices  precisely  as  the 
frame  of  a schoolboy’s  slate,  only  that  they  are  not  fastened 
by  pegs  or  otherwise ; the  canvas  alone,  which  is  tacked 
to  the  frame,  keeping  them  together.  Two  wooden  wedges 
(the  keys  above  mentioned)  are  inserted  into  each  corner, 
so  as  to  be  between  the  tenon  and  mortice  of  each  side  ; 
and  by  gentle  blows  with  a hammer  on  these  wedges  the 
parts  of  the  frame  divaricate,  and  the  cloth  in  consequence 
stretches.  In  striking  these  wedges,  you  will  observe  to 
go  all  around  the  frame,  blow  for  blow,  or  rather  tap  for 
tap  (for  it  must  be  done  lightly),  giving  to  each  wedge  one 
stroke  in  succession,  till  your  canvas  is  sufficiently  dis- 
tended. If  you  were  to  drive  home,  or  finish  hammering, 
the  wedges  of  one  side,  before  touching  the  others,  you 
would  spoil  the  square  of  your  picturecloth  ; and  this  irre- 
gularity you  would  often,  in  the  course  of  your  sketch, 
find  embarrassing. 

It  is  advisable  to  purchase  your  canvas  many  months 
before  using  it ; a year  indeed  is  none  too  long.  Keeping 
it  then  where  it  will  be  exposed  to  the  air,  and  the  light, 
and  even  to  the  sun  if  not  too  warm,  the  priming  of  the 
cloth  has  a chance  to  become  perfectly  dry,  and  thus  the 
oiV,  wherewith  it  was  prepared,  is  less  likely  to  add  its 
pernicious  effects  to  those  of  the  oil  which  you  yourself 


116 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


are  obliged  to  use.  Before  using  it,  rub  it  over  with 
pumicestone  (putting  your  left  hand  behind  the  cloth,  so  as 
to  prevent  injuring  it),  and  wash  it  off  with  water,  to 
which  may  be  added  a portion  of  alcohol.  Tlic  fineness 
of  the  cloth  should  be  proportioned  to  the  size  and  subject 
)f  the  picture.  You  cannot  have  too  smootli  a surface  for 
a small  cabinetpicture  which  will  be  examined  close  at 
hand  ; whereas  in  one  of  largo  dimensions  this  is  less 
necessary,  and  a canvas  somewhat  coarser  is  even  prefer- 
able because  it  holds  the  paint  better.  The  great  essen- 
tial is  that  the  cloth  be  as  free  as  possible  from  knots.  If 
these  be  covered,  make  no  objection  to  the  thinness  of  the 
priming. 

As  to  the  tint  given  to  this  preparation,  it  is  better  that 
it  should  be  light.  Of  the  three  kinds  which  are  usually 
found  in  the  shops,  light  gray,  pink,  and  the  faintest  flesh- 
color,  this  last  is  the  best.  A color  like  that  of  old  ivory 
is  perhaps  as  good  a tint  as  one  could  have  for  the  priming 
of  a canvas  whereon  a head  or  heads  are  to  be  painted. 

Ticking  or  twilled  canvas  is  also  used  for  picturecloths, 
as  we  have  intimated;  but  more  rarely.  From  its  pe- 
culiar fabric  it  has  some  advantages,  and  where  a double 
cloth  is  desired,  it  would  be  excellent  for  the  under  one  or 
lining,  on  account  of  its  strength. 

A double  canvas  promises  of  course  much  greater  dura- 
bility, in  itself,  and  greater  protection  for  the  colors  against 
the  atmosphere.  The  mode  of  preparing  it  is  the  same 
as  for  what  is  called  the  lining  of  a picture,  of  which,  in 
its  proper  place,  we  shall  have  to  speak,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  amateur  (see  Part  vii..  Chapter  iv). 

Perhaps  the  chief  reason,  certainly  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant reasons,  for  the  preference  given  to  canvas  over 
the  old  wood  panel,  has  been  the  ease  with  which  a picture 


PICTURECLOTHS  AND  PANELS 


117 


may  be  transported  from  place  to  place.  If  the  reader  will 
recollect  the  size  of  Mr.  Wier’s  great  picture  of  the  Emho,r- 
kaiion  lately  exhibited  in  this  city,  he  will  see  that  it  could 
not  have  been  admitted  through  the  doors  of  the  exhibition- 
room,  except  by  taking  it  off  the  frame.  In  doing  this, 
and  rolling  up  a picture,  the  painted  side  is  to  be  kept 
outward,  because  in  case  of  the  paint  cracking,  it  will  join 
again  when  the  canvas  is  spread ; whereas,  the  contrary 
way,  the  paint  is  crowded  and  crushed  together,  and,  if  it 
do  not  scale  off,  it  will  open  in  cracks  as  soon  as  stretched. 
The  same  precaution  is  of  course  necessary  in  the  rolling 
up  of  a canvas  that  is  merely  primed. 


118 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

SHOWING,  BY  AN  ACTUAL  BILL  OF  SALE,  AT  WHAT  COST 
THE  BEGINNER  MAY  ESSAY  HIS  TALENT  FOR  OIL- 
PAINTING. 

Supposing  that  this  book  may  fall  into  the  hands  of  many 
who  would  gladly  try  the  art,  but  that  they  fear  it  would 
little  consist  with  stinted  means,  we  present  the  following 
items  of  the  expense,  by  which  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
experiment  is  not  very  costly.  It  is  a copy  verbatim  of  a 
bill  of  charges  sent  within  a year  or  two  to  a friend  of  the 
author’s,  who  had  simply  desired  the  colorman  to  furnish 
him  with  ‘‘  everything  requisite  for  oilpainting,”  without 
specifying  a single  article,  and  without  selecting  (a  rash- 
nes-s  characteristic  of  the  party,  and  not  to  be  imitated). 

1 Paintbox* f 1 50 

1 Palette-board  and  tin  cup  . . 62 

4 Bottles,— -oils,  varnish,  and  turpentinef  63 

1 Palette-knife  .....  50 

\ Tube  Silver  White  ....  44 

16  Bladders  of  colorsj  . . . 1 33 

• Not  of  course  the  complete  artist’s  box  we  have  described  in 
Chapter  xiii.,  but  a simple  tin  box,  substantially  made  and  neatly 
lackered  on  the  outside,  with  compartments  for  the  paints,  brushes, 
&c. 

t The  turpentine  is  not  necessary.  The  phial  of  drying-oil  is 
twelve  and  a half  cents,  that  of  poppy-oil  eighteen  pence,  and 
of  mastic-varnish  the  same, 

t At  least  one  half  the  cost  of  this  item  was  superfluous,  as 


COST  OF  MATERIAL. 


119 


1 Easel  and  one  Rest-stick  . . 1 88 

1 Set  of  Brushes  • . . . 2 75 

1 Paper  of  Vermilion  .25,  1 do.  Ultrama- 
rine .25,  1 do.  Carmine*  .25  . 75 

Chalk,  charcoal,  crayons, f and  portcrayon  25 
1 Canvas,  25  by  30  . . . 81 

Total.  . . . . $11  46 

many  of  the  bladders  were  of  pigments  that  were  either  useless,  or 
dangerous,  or  both,  such  as  Antwerp  Blue,  Chrome  Yellow,  the 
common  Crimson  and  Yellow  Lakes,  Sfc.  By  the  careful  indications 
given  him  throughout  the  preceding  chapters,  the  young  artist  is 
enabled  to  select  for  himself  such  pigments  as  he  wants  (they  are 
few  in  number),  and  can  rely  upon.  The  price  of  a bladder  of 
paint  is  usually  from  six  to  eight  cents. 

* Remember  that  Carmine  is  to  be  rejected,  except  for  the  pur- 
pose indicated  in  Chapter  vii.,  p.  65. 

t The  artificial  black  crayons  now  used  to  the  exclusion  of  those 
of  natural  earth  which  formerly  came  from  Italy.  They  still  bear 
the  name  of  the  original  inventor  Conte,  whose  patent  in  France 
has  however  long  ago  expired,  and  we  believe  likewise  the 
patentee.  They  are  numbered  1,  2,  3,  and  are  of  dilfeient 
hardness.  No.  1 being  the  hardest.  There  are  also  varnished 
black  crayons.  The  other  colors,  red,  and  different  shades  of  gray, 
there  is  no  occasion  to  particularize.  All  these  are  for  simple 
sketching.  F or  his  canvas  the  artist  uses  white  chalk,  very  generally 
This  is  prepared  for  the  purpose  in  the  same  form  as  crayons.  Ii 
cutting  either  chalks  or  crayons  you  cut  upwards  from  the  point 
reversing  in  all  respects  the  manner  of  cutting  a leadpencil. 

JV*.  B.  By  choosing  for  himself  what  he  wants,  in  brushes  as 
well  as  colors,  the  beginner  may  be  able  to  add  to  his  purchase  a 
horn  knife,  or  better,  for  the  horn  knife  is  awkward,  an  ivory 
spatula  and  a glass  slab  and  muller,  without  increasing,  or  only  by 
a few  cents,  the  amount  of  the  above  bill.  Twelve  dollars,  laid 
out  with  judgment  (and  it  is  his  own  fault,  we  think,  if  after  the 
preceding  lessons  he  do  not  know  what  to  choose),  will  be  quite 
sufficient  to  furnish  him  with  all  that  he  can  need  of  the  mere 
materials  of  his  art. 


PART  II 


OF  CERTAIN  MATTERS  WHICH  BELONG  NOT  SO  MUCH  70 
THE  MATERIAL  OF  PAINTING  AS  TO  ITS  OPERATIONS,  AND 
WHICH  HAVE  THEREFORE  NOT  BEEN  COMPRISED  IN  THE 
FIRST  PART,  THOFGH  T^EY  SHOULD  BE  KNOWN  PREVIOUSLY 
TO  RNTBP’N^’  THn  "-Hli  D. 


.< 

. J 

■'j 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING 


PART  THE  SECOND. 


Before  commencing  those  instructions  which  will  enable 
the  young  artist  to  make  the  desired  use  of  his  materials, 
lliere  yet  remain  one  or  two  things  quite  essential  to  be 
taught.  These  are, — the  arrangement  of  his  study  or 
place  of  labor,  especially  as  it  regards  the  kind  of  light 
wnich  is  proper  for  his  occupation, — and  the  nature  and 
mode  of  applying  glazings  and  preparations.  Not  belong- 
ing so  much  to  the  material  of  the  art  as  to  its  processes, 
yet  necessary  to  be  known  before  he  advance  a step  further, 
these  special  points  we  have  thought  it  advisable,  for  the 
sake  of  method,  to  treat  by  themselves,  adding  thereto  cer- 
tain observations,  rules,  and  premonitions,  with  regard  to 
the  use  not  only  of  transparent  but  of  opaque  and  impasted 
colors,  and  giving  to  the  whole  a middle  place  between 
the  materials  and  the  practice  of  the  art. 


124 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  STUDY,  OR  WORKROOM  OF  THE  FAINTER  : ITS  DIMEN- 
SIONS ; AND  THE  PROPER  LIGHT  FOR  IT  IN  ORDINARY. 

The  artist  is  not  to  consider  the  selection  of  a place  for  his 
labor  as  of  minor  importance  : both  his  perspective  and  his 
coloring  depend  in  a great  measure,  for  exactness  and 
effect,  upon  the  situation,  dimensions,  and  arrangement  of 
his  study  or  workroom. 

It  may  be  said,  in  general  terms,  that  the  larger  the 
apartment  the  better.  To  jireserve  that  unity  which  is 
essential  in  the  object  he  is  designing,  the  latter  must  not 
be  too  near  him.  A room  that  is  so  small,  as  to  oblige  the 
artist  to  have  his  model  (by  which  the  beginner  will  un- 
derstand that  we  mean  the  living  figure  as  well  as  any 
imitation  of  it)  close  to  the  easel,  will  prove  a source  of 
the  most  perplexing  embarrassment  in  the  immediate  re- 
presentation and  of  ultimate  disappointment  in  the  comple- 
tion of  the  picture  : hand  inexpertus  loqiior  taught  by 
a painful  experience  that  was  forced  upon  us  by  circum- 
stances, we  would  gladly  save  the  young  artist  the  vexa- 
tion of  defeated  aims,  that  will  embarrass  him  the  more 
that  he  will  be  unable  to  account  for  his  defeat.  If  he  have 
the  good  fortune  to  have  ample  space  to  seat  his  model  at 
some  distance  from  him,  let  him  not  be  tempted,  no  matter 
on  what  grounds,  to  bring  it  near  him : he  may  rest  as- 
sured that  the  precept  we  have  given,  which  is  that  of  the 
collected  authority  of  the  first  writers  in  the  art  as  well  as 


THE  painter’s  STUDY.  ITS  LOCATION.  125 

the  result  of  our  individual  experience,  cannot  be  trans- 
gressed or  neglected  without  evil  consequence.  Besides, 
when,  for  the  occasion  of  coloring  the  flesh,  or  for  any 
other  purpose  that  requires  a closer  observation,  he  wishes 
to  bring  his  model  nigher  to  him,  or  to  approach  nigher  to 
it,  this  is  always  in  his  power  ; remembering  only  that  if 
he  shall  find,  as  is  pretty  certain,  that  the  model  when 
thus  near  him  presents  certain  points,  or  certain  contours, 
different  from  what  he  has  designed  them  at  the  stated 
distance,  he  is  not  to  make  any  corresponding  alteration  in 
his  sketch  : this  would  be  death  to  the  unity  of  his  figure, 
and  a complete  falsification  of  the  perspective  of  the  whole 
picture.  If  it  be  asked,  what  distance  is  requisite  for  a 
true  delineation,  it  may  be  answered,  at  the  least  two  yards, 
though  a simple  head  may  be  safely  and  well  painted  some- 
what nearer,  while  for  a full  figure  even  a greater  distance 
still  is  advisable.  Add,  to  these  powerful  reasons  which 
concern  the  perspective*  of  the  picture,  the  fact  that  there 
is  danger,  in  too  small  a chamber,  that  the  reflections  from 
the  walls  and  furniture  should  embarrass  him  in  the  color- 
ing after  a living  model. 

Next  to  having  his  apartment  sufficiently  large  to  permit 
the  proper  disposition  of  his  model,  and  to  leave  a sufficient 
space  not  only  behind  it,  but  also  behind  his  own  seat,  in 
order  that  without  moving  the  easel  he  may  occasionally 
retire  a sufficient  distance  to  judge  of  the  effect  of  his 

* Of  course  in  this  work,  setting  aside  the  restricted  nature  we 
have  given  it  as  a compendium  of  the  art  of  oilpainting,  we  make 
no  attempt  to  indoctrinate  the  student  in  any  of  the  principles  of 
design.  It  is  presupposed  that  he  has  the  requisite  instruction, 
without  which  to  painting  is  to  advance  backwards,  so  to 

■peak,  or  rather,  to  jCommence  with  the  superstructure  and  finish  at 
the  foundation 


126 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


work  as  it  proceeds,  the  artist  is  advised  to  choose  for  hia 
study  a location  next  the  roof  of  the  house,  if  this  be  pos- 
sible ; for  the  light  admitted  through  a sash  placed  in  the 
slope  of  the  roof  is  the  very  best  he  could  desire.  But  as 
such  a location  very  seldom  admits  of  convenient  or  ne- 
cessary  space  for  his  operations,  he  should  then  see  that 
the  room  he  occupies  be  lofty  enough  to  enable  him  to 
direct  the  light  from  on  high,  by  the  simple  contrivance  of 
darkening  the  lower  half,  or  more  if  the  aperture  be  near 
the  floor,  of  the  window  he  uses.  This  we  say,  because, 
except  in  very  peculiar  cases,  which  we  need  not  mention 
as  they  will  not  occur  to  a beginner,  and  when  occurring 
will  be  easily  provided  for  by  the  suggestions  of  his  own 
experience,  because  it  is  only  one  window  that  the  artist 
employs,  that  to  the  left  as  he  sits ; the  other,  on  his  right 
hand,  being  completely  darkened.* 

If  the  student  be  curious  to  know  the  reason  for  pre- 
scribing as  imperative  a light  from  the  top,  we  have  not  to 
demonstrate  to  him  in  this  epitome,  which  is  so  exclusively 
practical,  why  it  is  that  such  a light  is  the  most  advanta- 
geous of  all ; let  him,  if  he  have  a bust,  cast  for  example 
from  some  antique  (the  Venus  of  the  Medici  is  the  most 
common),  place  a candle  below  the  head,  and  afterwards 
raise  it  above  it,  he  will  see  in  an  instant  a difference  in 
effect,  both  of  positive  beauty  and  of  harmony,  that  will  sur- 
prise him  ; or,  the  next  time  he  is  in  a theatre,  let  him  as- 
cend to  the  gallery  and  look  down  upon  the  performers,  he 
will  find  that  by  that  most  unphilosophical  contrivance  of 
footlights  the  handsomest  features  are  made  irregular  and 
the  softest  contours  exaggerated  into  harshness. 

• In  Chapter  iii.,  however,  we  shall  give  after  Bouvier  one  me- 
thod of  using  both  the  windows  for  the  sake  of  procuring  a novel 
effect  in  the  chiaroscuro. 


THE  painter’s  STUDY.  ITS  LIGHT.  127 

By  the  concurrent  testimony  of  the  plurality  of  writers  on 
the  art,  a northern  exposure  is  considered  the  best  for  the 
study  of  a painter  ; and  this,  because  from  the  north  the  light 
is  more  uniform  throughout  the  day.  But  one  of  the  most 
philosophical  of  painter-authors,  who  has  investigated 
the  principles  of  the  art  more  copiously  perhaps  than  any 
other,  maintains  the  contrary  ; “ for,”  he  says,  “ though  the 
sun  does  embarrass  the  painter,  especially  when  at  brief 
and  frequent  intervals  it  is  crossed  by  clouds,  and  though 
the  north  side  admits  a light  more  uniform,  it  must  be  ac- 
knowledged that  an  exposure  somewhat  south  affords  a 
light  much  more  beautiful.  And  thus  it  is,  that  the  intel- 
ligent artist,  who  distrusts  the  cold  and  often  bluish  color 
of  the  north,  helps  himself  by  the  interposition  of  shades 
so  tinted*  as  to  give  animation  to  its  light.”  The  last  sen- 
tence will  afford  a useful  hint  to  the  young  painter,  sup- 
posing his  room  to  face  the  north,  and  that  he  needs  a 
warmer  light  for  certain  subjects ; while  if  his  study  be  so 
situated  that  the  sun  at  any  time  of  the  day  interferes  with 
his  labors,  nothing  is  more  easy  than  to  interpose  a curtain 
of  linen  of  even  texture  and  not  too  thick,  which  can  be 
raised  or  lowered  at  will  by  the  wheel  and  roller  now  in 
common  use  for  window-shades.  Bouvier  prefers  a screen 
of  fine  transparent  paper,  which,  pasted  to  a frame  of  proper 
size,  is  made  to  rise  and  fall  on  occasion  by  means  of  a 
pulley  and  weight.  With  the  roller  just  mentioned,  all 
that  would  be  necessary  would  be  to  fasten  to  the  roller 
three  cords,  one  at  each  end  and  one  in  the  middle  ; the 
frame  of  the  shade  being  attached  to  the  ends  of  these 
cords,  the  motion  given  in  the  usual  way  to  the  latter  will 
of  course  shorten  the  cords,  and  so  lift  the  frame,  more  or 
less  high  as  may  be  desired.  The  paper  is  not  to  be  oiled. 


See  the  sequent  Chapter. 


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This  kind  of  shade  is  preferred  by  Bouvier  because  it  can 
be  stretched  more  uniformly,  and  because  it  does  not  admit 
the  rays  of  the  sun  to  pass  through  it,  as  they  may  between 
tlie  threads  of  an  ordinary  curtain.  We  may  add  to  this, 
lliat  the  frame  touching  closely  the  sides  of  the  sash,  and 
filling  up  the  aperture  of  the  window,  the  light  can  only 
come  through  the  shade,  especially  if  small  rings  be  at- 
tached at  intervals  to  secure  the  frame  to  the  sash  by  means 
of  corresponding  hooks  in  the  latter.  But  this  would  be 
an  embarrassment,  by  requiring  the  artist  to  leave  nis  seat 
every  time  he  had  need  to  adjust  it.  Suffice  it  that,  one 
way  or  another,  no  artist,  be  his  ingenuity  ever  so  little, 
can  be  at  a loss,  with  the  hints  here  given,  for  the  manage- 
ment of  his  light  in  ordinary. 

One  caution,  before  we  conclude  this  chapter.  The 
artist  should  bear  in  mind  the  destination  of  his  picture 
when  finished,  and  not  be  misguided  by  the  striking  effect 
of  a too  confined  light  in  his  darkened  study,  which  will 
give  to  his  shadows  and  all  the  darks  of  his  picture  an  inten- 
sity that  must  greatly  diminish  wher  it  is  hung  in  a well 
lighted  room  or  gallery. 


ARTIFICIAL  REFLECTIONS. 


129 


CHAPTER  1[. 

HOW  TO  PROCURE  PARTICULAR  REFLECTIONS,  AND  MODIFT 
THE  TONES  GIVEN  BY  THE  WALLS  OR  ORDINARY  OBJECTS 
OF  THE  painter’s  STUDY  ; AND  HOW  TO  EXCLUDE  RE- 
FLECTIONS COMING  FROM  OBJECTS  WITHOUT. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  we  alluded  to  the  danger  of  re- 
flections from  the  walls  or  furniture  of  the  artist’s  room. 
This  may  be  obviated  by  the  same  means  that  is  employed 
for  producing  an  artificial  reflection  of  a certain  color  or 
tone  that  may  be  required  by  the  model,  or  for  partially 
surrounding  the  model  with  an  artificial  background  which 
serves  as  a guide,  and  a most  serviceable  one,  to  the 
painter,  when  it  is  desirable  to  set  the  figure  in  a different 
relief  from  any  that  can  be  procured  by  the  mere  walls 
and  sombre  atmosphere  of  the  paintroom.  The  contrivance 
is  an  old  one,  and  consists  simply  of  moveable  screens  of 
common  linen-cloth,  which  are  constructed,  colored,  and 
suspended  in  the  following  manner. 

Cutting  the  stuff  into  pieces  four  or  five  feet  long  by 
about  three  feet  wide,  you  attach  to  each  of  its  narrower 
sides  a wooden  roller  similar  to  those  of  a common  window- 
shade,  or,  better,  like  those  of  a map, — and,  in  like  manner, 
instead  of  having  them  both  round,  these  pieces  of  wood, 
which  are  to  keep  the  screen  distended,  one  may  be  flat. 
Thus,  when  not  in  use,  they  may  be  rolled  up  and  set 
aside.  You  daub  these  cljths,  rather  than  paint  them,  in 
such  fashion  as  you  desire,  not  with  oilcolors,  but  in  distem- 
7* 


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•per,  that  is,  with  colors  prepared  in  size,*  such  as  is  used 
by  the  decorators  and  scenepainters  of  a theatre.  Some 
of  these  cloths  may  be  made  to  represent  a sky,  vaguely 
spotted  or  confused  with  indistinct  masses  of  clouds,  more 
or  less  light  or  golden,  others  a grayish  or  obscure  sky, 
others  again  tufts  of  foliage,  and  so  on  ; but  without  detail, 
and  above  all  without  hardness,  signifying  the  thing  rather 
than  representing  it.  By  painting  the  two  sides  of  each 
cloth  differently,  you  increase  your  variety  ; while  some 
you  can  have  of  a simple  uniform  tint,  for  particular  pur- 
poses. Having  several  upright  pieces  of  wood  from  six  to 
seven  feet  high  and  two  or  three  inches  wide,  inserted 
in  a foot  of  the  form  of  an  X,  with  holes  about  an  inch 
and  a half  apart,  like  a clothier’s  horse,  to  serve  for  the 
support  of  each  of  these  painted  sheets,  you  suspend  the 
latter  at  the  height  you  please  by  means  of  a peg,  as  you 
would  a map.  And  in  this  way,  you  place  them  behind  and 
on  each  side  of  your  model .f  You  have  thus  not  only  a 
reflection  different  from  what  the  walls  of  your  room  would 

* Make,  of  shreds  of  gloveleather,  a glue  whose  consistence, 
when  cold,  shall  be  that  of  a thin  jelly.  With  this,  warm^  you 
temper  your  colors,  keeping  the  mixture  warm  while  you  paint, 
and  thinning  it  when  needed.  A brush  of  large  size  is  to  be  used. 
Cooper's  White  Glue  is  a glue  ready  to  your  hand.  Observe  to 
melt  it  only  as  you  want  it ; for  it  spoils  in  a day  or  two.  Indeed 
in  summer  it  will  grow  putrid  in  twenty-four  hours. 

t The  suggestion,  in  a note  to  the  Chromatography,  that  iron 
rods  passing  diagonally  across  the  room  (of  course  sufficiently  high 
to  offer  no  impediment  to  free  motion),  with  curtains  of  various 
tint  and  pattern,  such  as  above  described,  sliding  on  them  by  means  of 
rings,  would  be  a useful  addition  to  the  artist’s  furniture,  strikes  us 
as  very  happy.  The  curtains  not  immediately  in  use,  run  up,  upon 
the  rod,  to  its  extremities,  would  never  be  in  the  way,  and  thus  the 
clearness  of  the  area  of  the  room,  that  essential  to  order  and  to 
convenience,  would  be  better  secured. 


EXCLUSION  OF  EXTERNAL  REFLECTIONS. 


131 


give  you,  but  you  have  a variety  of  backgrounds  suggested 
to  your ‘fancy,  if  not  actually  delineated,  or  at  least  the 
general  tone  of  the  grounds,  to  be  filled  up  with  details  at 
pleasure,  so  they  be  suitable  ; and  by  pouring  a greater  or 
less  light  from  your  window  upon  them,  or  by  placing 
them  more  or  less  obliquely  to  the  light,  you  have  new 
varieties ; and  thus  too  you  can  have,  in  a degree,  a sub- 
stitute for  the  open  air,  where  it  is  desirable  to  have  the 
figure  so  represented  without  its  being  in  your  power  to 
place  it  so  in  fact ; for  it  is  rare  indeed  that  the  artist 
paints  a portrait  in  the  open  air,  while  nothing  is  more 
common  than  that  he  should  be  required,  in  the  dim  light 
of  his  study,  to  represent  his  model  so  seated,  although 
nothing  can  be  more  opposite  than  the  soft,  faint,  bluish 
shades  produced  by  such  a situation  from  the  bold,  dark, 
and  well  defined  shadows  and  dusky  demitints  of  a room 
imperfectly  and  picturesquely  lighted. 

Sometimes  too  a painter’s  room  is  unavoidably  so  situat- 
ed that  reflections,  from  a wall  or  chimney  or  tree  or  other 
object  without,  are  thrown  in,  that  should  be  carefully  ex- 
cluded. This  exclusion  is  effected  without  difficulty  by 
means  of  such  a contrivance  as  we  see  attached  to  the 
exterior  of  the  windows  of  some  manufactories,  and  some- 
times of  a jail.*  It  may  be  illustrated  by  comparing  it 
to  any  three  of  the  sides  of  the  hopper  of  a mill,  or  more 
intelligibly  perhaps,  with  Bouvier,  to  the  figure  that  would 
be  presented  by  a writingdesk  stood  up  open  on  its 
shallowest  end  with  the  slant  side  outward,  supposing  the 
desk  were  placed  in  the  frame  of  a window.  It  is  an  open 
box  in  fact  (if  you  consider  the  windowsash  as  one  of  its 
sides)  consisting,  exclusively  of  the  sash,  of  three  pieces, 

* The  old  house  of  detention  that  stood  in  the  Park  was  thus 
furnished. 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


two  of  which,  nearly  sharp  at  the  end  and  diverging  up- 
ward (in  such  a figure  as  is  presented  by  the  side  of  an 
open  secretary),  are  fitted  to  the  sides  of  the  window,  while 
the  other  piece,  of  the  width  of  the  window,  crosses  them 
on  their  outer  edge.  A crevice  should  be  left  at  the  bot- 
tom of  this  box  for  the  rain  to  pass  through,  and  it  should 
moreover  be  so  constructed  as  by  means  of  a cord  to  be 
let  down  or  drawn  up  at  a greater  or  less  angle  from  the 
window  at  pleasure  ; for  which  purpose  the  two  sides  must 
be  large  enough  to  fill  up  the  entire  space  between  the 
windowframe  and  the  front  of  the  screen,  when  at  its 
lowest  or  greatest  inclination.  The  inside  should  be  paint- 
ed black.  The  advantages  of  such  a contrivance,  which 
excluding  all  dangerous  reflections  from  external  objects, 
yet  admits  the  full  light  of  day  poured  down  into  the  room 
as  by  a funnel,  and  in  a greater  or  less  volume  as  you 
please,  must  be  obvious. 


EXTRAORDINARY  LIGHTS. 


133 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF  CERTAIN  PECULIAR  LIGHTS  THAT  MAY  BE  GIVEN  TO  THE 
MODEL  ON  OCCASION. 

If  the  artist  desire  to  have  for  himself  the  whole  light  of 
the  window,  yet  at  the  same  time  to  give  to  the  model  but 
a narrow  volume  and  that  descending  from  the  extreme 
height  of  ‘he  aperture,  he  may  obtain  his  wishes  in  this 
manner.  To  an  upright  support,  very  similar  to  that  men- 
tioned in  the  last  chapter,  an  iron  rod  is  fastened  in  the 
form  of  a carpenter’s  square,  or  the  hinge  of  a door,  only 
cylindrical,  so  that  on  the  horizontal  or  projecting  part  a 
curtain  may  slide  by  means  of  rings,  while  the  vertical 
branch  may  revolve  on  itself  in  two  rings  of  iron,  one 
fastened  above  and  the  other  below,  precisely  as  a hinge 
turns,  in  order  that  the  curtain,  like  a door,  may  be  moved 
backward  or  forward  at  will,  nearer  to  or  further  from 
the  model.  Of  course,  however,  the  opening  of  this  door, 
so  to  call  it,  is  not  to  be  so  wide  that  the  model  can  receive 
the  light  elsewhere  than  from  above  it.  While  on  the 
other  hand  it  is  easy  to  give  a greater  breadth  to  the  light 
so  admitted,  by  merely  having  holes  perforated  in  the 
vertical  rod,  into  which  the  horizontal  branch,  being  made 
moveable,  can  be  inserted  at  various  distances,  thus  raising 
or  lowering  the  screen  at  will.  This  curtain  or  screen 
should  be  black  on  the  side  next  the  painter;  while  a 
doubling  of  white  muslin  or  linen  cloth  on  the  other  side 
will  protect  the  eyes  of  the  model. — And  by  the  by,  it  may 
be  mentioned,  that  a similar  doubling  of  white  should  be 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


affixed  to  the  ordinary  curtain  that  obscures  the  lower 
half  of  the  artist’s  window,  folding  it  over  the  top  of  the 
curtain,  that  the  sitter  may  not  be  pained  by  the  effect  of 
a black  line  cutting  sharply  upon  the  light  of  the  window. 
There  is  an  additional  advantage  in  this  arrangement,  that 
this  doubling  of  the  shade  more  effectually  shuts  out  the 
light  that  is  to  be  excluded  ; and  where  the  curtain  is  niude 
of  green  stuff  or  baize,  which  is  usually  adopted  for  such 
purposes,  it  is  even  necessary  because  of  the  injurious  re 
flection  that  might  be  imparted  to  the  carnations  o'*  t*^,e 
model,  if  the  stuff  be  at  all  translucent. 

Another  variety  in  the  mode  of  lighting  the  model  may 
be  obtained  as  follows,  where  there  are  two  windows,  and 
the  space  between  them  is  very  narrow,  say  not  more  thaii 
two  or  two  and  a half  feet.  One  window  then  serves  to 
light  the  painter  and  another  the  model,  a curtain  similarly 
arranged  in  every  respect  to  that  just  described,  only  very 
much  longer, — reaching  above  to  nearly  the  ceiling  and 
falling  below  to  within  a few  inches  of  the  floor;  — being 
interposed  between  the  two  windows,  so  that  the  light  from 
the  artist’s  side  does  not  reach  the  model,  while  that  of  the 
model  is  intercepted  from  the  painter.  In  this  case  both 
sides  of  the  curtain  must  be  black,  that  neither  artist  nor 
model  may  be  dazzled.  The  effect  of  this  arrangement, 
which  is  said  to  be  very  striking,  is  considered  “ rather  too 
severe  for  young  persons  of  either  sex a remark  that 
may  be  applied  likewise  to  the  arrangement  first  described. 


PRECAUTIONS  AGAINST  DUST. 


135 


CHAPTER  IV. 

now  THE  ARTIST  MAY  BEST  SECURE  HIMSELF  AGAINST  DUST. 

We  have  now  finished  this  branch  of  our  subject,  having 
treated  it  more  at  length,  we  think,  than  could  have  been 
expected  in  a book  like  the  present ; but  before  passing  to 
the  chapter  on  glazing,  we  will  give  what  may  be  a useful 
hint  to  the  reader  whom  our  very  title  supposes  to  be  not 
above  the  plainest  points  of  instruction. 

If  he  consider  then  the  nature  of  his  occupation  as  a paint- 
er in  oils,  he  will  not  doubt  the  importance  of  guarding  as  far 
as  possible  against  dust.  A carpet  for  the  floor  of  his  study 
is  bad ; an  India  matting  still  worse : the  former  from  its 
fabric ; the  latter,  because,  from  the  imperfect  manner  in 
which  the  breadths  (as  they  are  usually  called)  meet  to- 
gether, the  interstices  become  throughout  the  length  of  the 
apartment  so  many  receptacles  of  dust  that  is  not  easily 
dislodged.  A carpet  should  not  be  swept  without  the 
housewife’s  precaution  of  strewing  it  with  tealeaves,  moist 
rather  than  wet,  which  have  been  saved  for  the  purpose, 
after  serving  the  occasions  of  the  table.  For  the  matting, 
sawdust  moistened  with  warm  water  is  better,  as  tealeaves 
stain  or  foul  it.  But  if  the  artist  would  be  well  in  his 
room,  let  him  have  the  bare  floor,  well  painted  in  oil,  the 
cracks  and  crevices  being  previously  stopped  with  putty  ; 
or  cover  it  with  an  oilcloth  such  as  is  used  for  halls. 
In  this  way,  the  broom  need  never  be  used ; a wet  mop  of 
the  ordinary  kind,  or  a swab  such  as  the  sailors  use  (made 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


of  ropeyarn  and  without  f\  handle)  for  the  purpose  of 
cleansing  the  decks  of  a vessel,  both  dusts  and  washes  the 
floor  at  the  same  time,  and  in  half  an  hour  or  so  you  have 
it  thoroughly  dry  again.  For  such  a climate  as  ours  this 
is  even  a comfort  for  six  months  of  the  year  ; and  when  the 
weather  becomes  cold,  if  a soft  thick  rug  or  two  (which 
are  easily  shook  out)  be  not  sufficient  under  the  feet  of 
the  artist,  and  of  his  model,  a carpet  can  be  nailed  down 
over  the  floorcloth  or  the  painted  boards,  to  be  removed 
again  on  the  return  of  the  warm  season. 

Seemingly  these  are  trifles ; in  fact,  however,  they  are 
points  well  worth  attending  to. 


GLAZING. 


137 


CHAPTER  V. 

OF  GLAZING.  ITS  ADVANTAGES,  AND  DISADVANTAGES. 

A GLAZE  is  an  extremely  thin  and  generally  transparent 
couch  of  color  superposed  on  another,  usually  to  modify  its 
tone  or  to  add  to  its  effect,  or  again  to  produce  an  imitation 
of  appearances  in  nature  that  can  only  be  done  by  a dia- 
phanous tint,  as  where  a shadow  is  glazed.  We  say 
’•'■generally  transparent,”  because  though  properly,  as  the 
word  implies,  the  substratum  of  color  should  appear  through 
the  upper  layer,  as  through  a tinted  glass,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose pigments  which  by  the  extreme  divisibility  of  their 
molecules  take  up  a great  quantity  of  oil,  which  is  usually 
called  having  but  little  body,  are  employed,  yet  a thin 
layer  of  an  opaque  color  extremely  diluted  with  oil  is 
sometimes  used,  to  modify  the  tone  of  a part  with  which 
the  artist  is  not  satisfied,  or  to  produce  particular  effects 
of  smoke,  or  dust,  or  clouds  ; and  in  this  way  even  Naples 
Yellow  has  been  employed  on  occasion,  and  a common 
ochre  is  adopted  as  we  have  already  mentioned,  and  shall 
presently  repeat,  as  one  of  the  ingredients  of  Bouvier’s 
Composite  Brown.  The  Italian  writers,  therefore,  who  call 
this  operation  veiling,  express  it  much  more  happily  than 
we  do  and  the  French. 

The  very  evident  advantages  of  such  a process  for  har- 
mony, for  force,  for  brilliancy,  for  correcting  even  what  is 
imperfect,  or  for  perfecting  what  is  unfinished,  have  pro- 
cured it  many  advocates,  while  the  great  disadvantages 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


which  experience  has  shown  to  result  from  the  hUlrous,  or 
the  hrownish-reddish  tint,  or  other  discoloration,  which  the 
abundant  oil  of  the  glaze  produces  in  time,  sometimes  even 
to  the  extent  of  an  absolute  monotony,  in  the  picture  where 
it  has  been  extensively  used,  have  made  all  modern  paint- 
ers more  or  less  distrust  it,  and  caused  a great  number  to 
reject  it  altogether.  Thus  while  we  find  the  illustrious 
name  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  displayed  in  its  defence,  the 
change  which  has  taken  place  in  so  many  of  that  great 
English  master’s  best  works  adds  a new  and  fatal  exempli- 
fication to  the  crowd  afibrded  by  the  Venetian  school,  in- 
cluding even  Titian  and  Giorgione,  of  the  ravages  caused 
by  this  colored  oil  (for  it  is  little  more),  which  seems  as  if 
it  had  burned  up  every  fresher  tint,  spreading  a dusky  hue 
over  the  brighter  colors,  and  turning  the  darker  black, 
leaving  to  what  were  once  prodigies  of  coloring  merely  the 
twilight  of  a glory  whose  meridian  splendor  we  recognize 
solely  on  the  faith  of  tradition  or  in  the  pages  of  history. 
Now  if  we  add  to  this  destruction  of  the  tones  and  effect 
of  a picture  as  left  by  the  master,  the  injury  that  is  done 
by  the  cleaners,  when,  removing  an  old  varnish  that  is 
embrowned  by  age  (a  process  of  frequent  repetition,  as  we 
shall  show  in  Part  vii.),  they  carry  off*  with  it  many  of 
these  glazings,  which  were  often  the  last  finish  and  most 
exquisite  touches  of  the  painter,  we  shall  see  that  it  is  not 
without  reason  that  everybody  distrusts  them,  and  not 
without  excuse  that  some  proscribe  them  altogether.  In 
fact  a glance  around  the  gallery  of  our  annual-exhibitions 
will  convince  the  student  that  glazing,  to  anything  like 
the  extent  that  was  once  prevalent,  has  no  longer  any  ad- 
vocates, at  le3,st  in  this  country  ; some  as  we  have  said 
rejecting  it  altogether,  while  the  few  that  use  it  reserve  it 


GLAZING. 


139 


for  parts  that  have  little  to  dread  from  an  obscuration  of 
their  tone,  or,  if  they  venture  it  in  certain  shadows  of  the 
flesh,  or  of  brilliant  or  light  draperies,  do  it  with  great 
circumspection.  Whether  any  equivalent  is  gained  by 
this  selfdenial,  we  do  not  allow  ourselves  here  to  inquire. 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


tio 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OF  PREPARATIONS. 

By  a preparation  (a  division  of  glazing  which  we  adopt 
from  Bouvier)  is  meant  a couch  of  diaphanous  color  put 
upon  certain  parts  of  a picture  to  prepare  them  for  repaint, 
ing.  The  tint  of  course  depends  not  only  upon  the  object 
you  have  to  represent  but  also  upon  the  tone  of  the  part 
you  wish  to  modify.  But,  as  these  glazes  are  designed  to 
be  painted  over  with  colors  more  or  less  opaque,  they  do 
not  require  the  same  care  to  spread  them  with  uniformity 
as  those  which  are  not  mere  preparations.  Moreover,  for 
the  same  reason,  they  do  not  require  so  much  drying-oil, — 
the  body  of  the  color  which  is  superinduced  aiding  the 
desiccation  of  the  part. 

When  the  sketch,  or  first-painting  is  dry,  it  frequently 
happens  that  certain  parts  lose  the  brilliancy  that  they  had 
when  fresh  and  embarrass  the  artist,  who  is  obliged  to  re- 
call the  true  tone  before  he  can  proceed.  This  acci- 
dental tarnishing,  which  the  French  call  the  embu, 
because  of  its  generally,  though  not  always,  arising  from 
the  absorption  or  imbibition  of  the  oil,  is  easily  corrected 
by  the  aid  of  these  preparations,  which  besides  facilitate 
the  operation  of  the  artist  in  the  same  way  that  oil  or  var- 
nish* does  that  is  rubbed  upon  a part  already  dry  which 

* Various  varnishes  have  been  devised  and  in  vogue  at  various 
periods  for  this  purpose ; the  best  however  of  which  had  its  origin 
in  Rome,  and  was  widely  adopted  in  all  Europe  at  the  end  of  the 
last  century.  From  the  peculiar  use  of  these  unctuous  mixtures. 


PREPARATIONS. 


141 


needs  retouching,  that  is  by  enabling  him  to  blend  the 
correction  he  then  makes  with  the  parts  that  neighbor  it, 
without  hardness  and  without  leaving  visible  marks  of  the 
operation.  Preparations  therefore  allow  you  to  see  the 
sketch  as  if  it  were  freshly  painted,  so  that  you  modify  the 
tones  with  a perfect  knowledge  of  the  occasion  for  such 
modification,  and  moreover  the  details  that  are  newly  paint- 
ed unite  so  happily  with  the  previous  work,  presenting 
neither  dryness  nor  insulation,  that  the  harmony  of  the 
entire  picture  is  not  disturbed  nor  its  mellowness  anyway 
diminished. 

But  if  instead  of  using  diaphanous  tints  you  were  to 
make  use  of  opaque  colors  for  these  preparations,  you 
must  evidently  lose  the  result  of  all  your  previous  labor, 
when  perhaps  too  it  was  all  but  the  best  it  could  be,  or  the 
greater  part  of  it  was  perfectly  to  your  liking,  so  that  it 
would  be  like  beginning  your  work  afresh.  It  is  to  ena- 
ble you  to  preserve  in  your  first-painting  such  local  tints 
as  happen  to  be  just,  that  this  sort  of  gU  dng  is  so  useful ; 
and  it  will  not  be  infrequent  that  you  will  desire  to  let 
your  sketch  appear  through  the  preparation  in  parts 
where  it  is  happily  executed,  so  that  you  have  only  to 
modify  by  particular  touches  particular  points  of  the  de- 

the  French  gave  them  the  name  of  retouching--varnish  (vernis  a 
retoucher).  We  have  specified  the  most  popular  of  them  in  Chap- 
ter xiii.,  of  the  preceding  Part.  The  reason  of  their  employment  is 
sufficiently  explained  above,  and  as  our  limits  will  not  permit  us  to 
devote  a special  chapter  to  the  subject  of  retouchings  we  will 
merely  add  that  some  painters  prefer  a simple  mixture  A saliva 
with  poppy-oil  (made  on  the  palette)  to  rub  the  dry  place  they  have 
occasion  to  repaint.  In  all  cases  as  littre  is  used  of  the  unguent  as 
is  possible,  the  redundant  part  being  rubbed  off  with  a bit  of  silk, 
or  of  linen  that  deposits  no  lint.  Moreover,  the  part  should  be 
perfectly  dry. 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


tail.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  pieces  of  architecture 
and  landscapes,  and  not  uncommon  in  draperies.  But 
never  spread  a preparation  on  your  skies  nor  on  the  broad 
lights  of  your  carnations  ; parts  which  cannot  be  kept  too 
pure,  and  which  the  less  they  need  rehandling  the  better, 
both  because  of  their  soiling  and  of  their  eventual  dis- 
coloration by  the  oil. 


IMPASTING. 


113 


CHAPTER  VII. 

OF  IMPASTING,  OR  THICK  PAINTING. 

Having  discoursed  of  glazing,  it  is  right  that  we  should 
say  something  of  the  opposite  mode  of  using  colors  ; then, 
with  a list  of  the  pigments  that  afford  diaphanous  tints,  a 
few  hints  and  observations  for  their  application,  and  a brief 
chapter  of  advice  for  the  general  management  of  his  work, 
the  student  will  be  ready  to  assume  his  palette  and  follow 
our  instructions  in  the  sequent  Part. 

It  is  a rule  that  has  met  with  no  contradiction,  but  has 
come  down  to  us  repeated  on  all  sides  from  master  to  mas- 
ter,  because  it  is  a rule  founded  on  a just  perception  of  the 
principles  of  the  art,  that  the  shadows  should  be  laid  thin 
(at  least  in  finishing),  while  the  lights  are  to  be  treated 
with  a full  pencil  and  stiff  color.  In  the  more  brilliant 
parts  especially,  as,  for  example,  in  carnations  the  brightest 
light  of  the  forehead,  and  of  the  nose,  the  breast,  shoulders, 
etc.,  the  impasting  cannot  well  be  too  solid.  Yet  have  a 
care  not  to  fall  into  the  error  of  so  many  painters,  and  for- 
get that  you  are  using  paint  not  plaster  : there  is  a mean 
in  this  as  in  other  things,  a limit,  on  either  side  of  which, 
to  parody  the  poet  of  your  schooldays,  you  must  needs  go 
wrong  ; and  if  you  hear  of  such  and  such  great  men  (as 
for  example  of  Rembrandt,  of  whom  they  tell  prodigious 
tales*),  that  have  heaped  up  their  color  in  places  to  an 

• Of  cavities  as  well  as  projections  ; for  they  tell  us  not  only  of  a 
real  nose  of  paint,  but  of  an  actual  hole  for  a cavern  ! Monstrosities, 
especially  this  latter,  which  if  they  be  more  than  accidents  must 
be  accounted  the  exaggerated  affectation  of  an  egregious  vanity. 


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HANDBOCK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


actual  protuberance  from  the  canvas,  you  must  attribute 
these  crusts,  as  they  are  called  in  the  cant  of  the  art,  not  to 
intention,  but  to  their  frequent  going  over  and  over  certain 
spots  that  they  could  not  readily  paint  up  to  their  satisfaction, 
for  who  could  suppose  them  ignorant  that  such  prominences 
must  in  certain  lights  produce  a shadow  that  would  be  in 
contradiction  to  the  artificial  shadows  of  their  picture  ? 

In  landscapes,  in  the  lights  of  the  foreground  and  of 
parts  that  are  not  m.eant  to  be  remote  and  to  retire,  a free 
impasting,  done  with  spirit  and  a ready  touch,  tells  with 
the  happiest  effect.  Good  paintings  of  this  description  are 
not  un frequent  even  in  our  annual-exhibitions,  and  to  ex- 
amine one  with  attention  will  avail  the  student  much  more 
than  a length  of  instruction.  He  will  see  how  these  little 
inequalities  of  color  on  the  trunks  of  trees,  the  foremost 
leaves  that  catch  the  light,  the  foam  of  uptossed  waters, 
the  rugged  and  broken  and  moss-grown  rocks,  the  large 
plants  that  seem  to  be  nearest  to  his  hand,  give  a natural 
and  vivid  contrast  with  the  thinner  and  uniform  couches 
of  the  receding  and  obscurer  parts  and  the  transparent 
glaze  of  the  shadows.  Then  again,  in  other  pictures,  the 
lights  of  shining  bodies,  such  as  armor  and  furniture,  all 
these  things  are  touched  sharply,  bddly,  with  a single 
touch,  and  seemingly  without  study.  Vv^ith  a single  touch  ; 
for  laboring  at  the  stroke,  modelling  into  shape  and  re- 
touching carefully  these  lights  that  should  be  sharp,  is  more 
than  waste  of  time  ; the  spirit  is  gone,  the  force,  the  truth, 
— not  to  say  that  the  light  is  dimmed  by  the  very  act  of 
manipulation. 

Bear  this  in  mind,  and,  with  the  first  opportuqity,  ob- 
serve; and  this  ctiapter,  thus  exemplified,  will  be  the 
easiest  understood  in  the  book. 


COLORS  SUITABLE  FOR  GLAZING. 


145 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

LIST  OF  COLORS  SUFFICIENTLY  TRANSPARENT  FOR  THE 
PURPOSE  OF  GLAZING. 

Ultramarine. — All  the  lakes. — All  the  blacks  that  are  of 
a light  nature. — The  Burnt  Carmine  or  Burnt  Venetian 
Lake  we  have  described ; for  vigorous  parts. — Prussian 
Blue. — Sienna  Earth,  both  raw  and  burnt. — Asphaltum. — 
Cassel  Earth  (but  remember  that  it  blackens). — Brown 
of  Prussian  Blue. — Composite  Brown  (No.  24. — See  page 
34). — Indian  Yellow. — And,  for  special  purposes,  which 
we  have  sufficiently  detailed,  Distilled  Verdigris, 

Of  course  we  need  not  say  (after  the  copious  enumera- 
tion of  pigments  that  we  have  made  in  Part  I.),  that 
these  are  not  by  any  means  all  the  colors,  even  uncom- 
pounded, that  can  be  used  with  success  in  glazing ; we  are 
merely  following  the  cautious  indications  of  Bouvier,  for 
reasons  already  given  to  the  student.  Thus,  in  greens  for 
example,  there  is  Chrome  Green  (not  the  dangerous  mixture 
that  is  made  of  Chrome  Yellow  and  various  blues,  but  the 
pure  oxide  of  chrome)  that  may  be  glazed  with  in  perfect 
confidence. 

There  are  occasions  too  where  glazes  may  be  made  of 
the  ochres,  as  in  the  Composite  Brown.  They  may  be  em- 
ployed pure  when  Indian  Yellow  would  give  too  bright  a 
hue  and  too  much  vigor  to  trees,  grounds,  rocks,  etc. 
Avoid,  however,  glazing  with  colors  too  opaque. 


8 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINB. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

USEFUL  HINTS  AND  OBSERVATIONS  WITH  REGARD  TO 
GLAZING. 

The  color  should  be  darker  than  that  over  which  it  is  laid, 
never,  or  rarely  ever,  the  reverse.  “ To  glaze  in  light 
colors  over  dark,”  says  a favorite  writer  of  ours,  “ is  to 
wish  to  see  with  one’s  own  eyes  the  destruction  of  those 
light  colors ; for  the  oil  of  the  subjacent  couch  will  kill 
them. — They  tells  us  that  C.  Vanloo’'  frequently  fell  into 
this  error.”  It  is  well,  therefore,  to  keep  in  general  the 
first- painting  of  a brighter  tone  than  the  subject  requires, 
allowing  thus  for  the  effect  of  the  subsequent  glazings  and 
preparations,  which  will  lower  and  obscure  it. 

Should  there  be  occasion  to  brighten  the  tone  of  a part, 
to  render  the  tint  lighter,  more  luminous,  glazing  is  not 
the  immediate  step  ; you  must  first  cover  the  tint  with  color 
of  sufficient  body  to  conceal  it  altogether,  facilitating  your 
labor  in  the  manner  indicated  in  Chapter  vi.  This  mask 
of  color  fully  dry,  you  can  follow  with  the  glaze  as  you 
deem  proper. 

The  best  time  for  glazing,  according  to  Merim^e,  is 
when  the  under  couch  is  just  dry  enough  to  prevent  ab- 
sorption of  the  glaze.  The  latter  then  unites  with  it  in  a 
measure,  and  is  not  so  liable  to  be  removed  in  the  cleaning 

* Carle,  the  most  celebrated  of  the  name.  Died  in  1765.  His 
reputation  is  one  of  those  that  are  owing  quite  as  much  to  caprice 
and  fashion  as  to  any  real  merit.  Hence  since  the  present  century 
it  has  been  upon  the  wane. 


HINTS  FOR  THE  OPERATION  OF  GLAZING. 


147 


of  the  picture.  But  this  cannot  always  be  done  where  the 
glaze  would  aftect  the  general  tone  of  the  picture,  as  this 
tone  can  only  be  determined  when  the  work  is  near  its 
completion. 

To  glaze  upon  solid  color  it  should  be  sufficiently  firm  no^ 
to  be  rubbed  up  by  the  pencil.  When  too  dry,  however,  it  is 
not  easy  to  make  the  part  receive  the  glaze,  unless  it  be 
previously  prepared  for  it ; which  is  done  by  washing  it 
with  spirit  of  wine  diluted  by  warm  water,  adding  a few 
drops  of  alcohol  to  the  glaze  itself  when  used,  or  moisten- 
ing therewith  the  brush.  Going  over  it  with  a mixture  of 
drying-oil  and  mastic- varnish  will  answer  the  same  pur- 
pose. 

When  a glazing  produces  a different  result  from  what 
Was  expected,  or  for  any  other  cause  of  dissatisfaction  you 
desire  to  remove  it,  rub  over  it,  with  the  hand,  crumb  of 
stale  bread,  giving  to  the  canvas  such  an  inclination  or 
position  that  the  crumbs  as  they  fall  or  are  brushed  off  do 
not  light  upon  any  part  yet  moist  that  you  would  not  dis- 
turb. When  the  glaze  is  entirely  removed,  and  the  place 
carefully  wiped,  you  can  go  over  it  with  another  glaze 
modified  in  the  point  in  which  the  other  was  defective. 
Or,  on  occasion,  this  modification  may  be  made  without 
removing  the  glaze  at  all,  by  the  addition  of  another  color 
more  or  less  opposed  to  the  first,  and  which,  by  combining 
with  it,  will  give  the  tone  desired.  Thus,  for  example,  if 
the  first  be  too  greenish,  spread  quickly  and  very  lightly 
over  the  whole  glaze  a little  pure  Lake,  or  some  other  such 
color  still  more  analogous  to  the  tone  you  would  have  ; it 
will  soon  attenuate  the  green.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
first  glaze  is  too  ruddy,  you  glaze  over  it  with  pure  Ultra- 
marine,  if  the  object  be  represented  as  somewhat  in  the 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


distance,  or  with  black,  and  even  Prussian  Blue,  if  it  be  near 
the  eye. 

Observe,  in  removing  a glaze,  not  to  wait  so  long  that  it 
shall  have  had  time  to  fix,  or  that  the  color  on  which  it  is 
laid  shall  have  become  softened.  If  the  change  is  to  be 
made  at  all  in  this  manner,  it  must  be  decided  upon  at 
once. 

Finally,  while  a glaze  does  not  always  procure  the 
mellowness  that  might  be  supposed,  “ as  is  abundantly  evi- 
denced by  many  works  of  the  greatest  Venetian  and  Flem- 
ish masters,”  bear  in  mind  the  consequences  that  are 
always  threatened  by  the  nature  of  its  composition.  At 
first  the  glazing  is  transparent ; you  meant  it  so,  and  you 
have  it,  in  this  respect  as  in  its  color,  quite  to  your  wishes. 
But  time  passes ; slowly  and  imperceptibly,  but  not  less 
surely,  the  material  is  undergoing  a chemical  alteration  ; 
and  as  certainly  as  darkness  follows  the  day  when  the  sun 
is  down,  so  certainly  will  discoloration,  and  what  is  infi- 
nitely worse,  obscuration,  supervene  to  tints  that  look  at 
first  so  magical,  suspended  in  these  oily  washes. 

It  is  then  with  distrust,  but  not  aversion,  that  you  are  to 
look  upon  the  powerful  aid  afforded  by  glazing  to  th( 
charms  of  painting ; not  abjuring  totally  its  use,  but  em 
ploying  it  with  due  restriction,  sparingly  that  is,  me 
destl)-,  if  we  may  so  speak,  and  always  with  circumspec. 
tion. 


ADVICE  FOR  THE  GENERAL  LA  YING-ON  OF  THE  COLf  RS.  149 


CHAPTER  X 

GENERAL  ADVICE  TO  THE  VOCNG  ARTIST  OR  AMATEUR  FOB 
THE  LAYING-ON  OF  HIS  COLORS. 

“ In  order  that  the  colors,  as  a whole,  may  be  considered 
well  laid  on,  they  should  in  the  lights  be  of  a full  body, 
and  thin  and  of  little  substance  in  the  obscure  and  flying 
parts,  or  if  not  so  in  fact,  at  least  be  made  to  seem  so 
by  transparent  glazes.  Each  color  in  the  whole  assem- 
blage should  appear  clean,  pure  and  fresh,  in  its  primitive 
beauty  and  lustre ; and  give  proof  of  an  intelligent,  light, 
easy,  and  firm  hand.  Nothing  in  its  management  should 
seem  clumsy,  labored,  heavy,  or  daubed.  Too  long  or 
unskilful  working  should  not  have  sullied  or  tarnished  it, 
by  teasing  it  too  much,  embroiling  it  with  its  neighbor 
tints,  or  by  jumbling  it  muddily  with  those  of  the  ground. 
It  should  be  delicately  melted,  at  its  extremities,  with  due 
neatness  and  address,  into  the  neighboring  colors,  or  united 
with  them  by  sympathizing  tints,  judiciously  managed. 

“ In  the  whole  manipulation  there  should  be  found  neither 
leaps  nor  jumps  between  the  tints  which  touch.  All  should 
be  blended  and  degraded*  with  art.  The  contours  of  each 
object  should  especially  be  melted  with  the  greatest  intelli- 
gence and  propriety  into  whatever  serves  them  for  a 
ground.  For,  if  they  be  too  little  so,  they  will  appear  hard 

* Consult  the  Dictionary  of  Terms.  The  phrase,  however,  will  be 
thoroughly  understood  before  the  student  is  through  half  the  suc- 
ceeding Part. 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


and  dry,  cutting  on  their  ground  like  scissors- Tvork  : if  the> 
be  too  much  so,  they  will  make  but  one  piece  with  thj 
ground,  render  the  work  soft  and  without  force,  and  destroy 
the  whole  illusion  of  the  environing  atmosphere.” 

The  above  maxims  we  have  translated  from  De  Burtin 
(Connaiss.,  Tome  1,  Chap,  ii..  Art.  16),  as  the  most  com- 
pendious yet  instructive  close  we  could  give  to  this  portion 
of  the  manual,  and  the  neatest  introduction  to  the  matter 
for  which  we  have  all  this  while  been  preparing  our  young 
artist.  He  is  now  to  make  use  of  the  material  with  whose 
properties  and  general  management  we  have  essayed  la 
render  him  familiar. 


PART  III 


Ifaa  FIRST  PALETTE,  OR  DEADCOLOaiPfC* 


PRELIMINARY  NOTICE. 


To  pi  event  the  slightest  possibility  of  mistake,  we  must 
declare  distinctly  in  advance,  what  is  more  than  once  in- 
timated in  the  course  of  the  present  and  succeeding  Part, 
that  this  “ Palette  ” (First  and  Second)  is  not  intended  as  in 
any  the  least  degree  a guide  to  practised  artists.  We 
cannot  corroborate  at  once  and  illustrate  our  assertion, 
which  is  that  of  our  leader  Bouvier,  better,  than  by  ap- 
plying the  principle  to  ourselves — if  the  reader  will  permit 
us,  and  saying,  that  we  should  as  soon  think  now,  in  full 
manhood,  of  unlearning  to  walk,  because  we  nad  discov- 
ered some  capital  principle  to  assist  the  infant  efforts  at 
locomotion,  as  to  dream  of  giving  up  our  own  mode  of 
practice,  nowever  faulty,  to  begin  anew  on  tfie  plan  of 
Bouvier,  only  because  we  believe  conscientiously  that  it  is 
the  very  best  for  a beginner,  and  that  it  would  have  saved 
us  much  time  and  hazardous  experiment  had  we  known 
it  when  we  first  set  our  own  palette. 

See  the  latter  half  of  Chapter  iii.,  in  this  Part. 


'IT'W  W 


iiKV  t'lEv»ii  w-  fr'  t»-'y-'vwii*'i»i>-)hi/“'n'r^^^ 

,--  - . ...  - . .,  .,  ,,  .. 

7,’^  . i;. 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


PART  THE  THIRD. 


“ There  are  many  artists  who  compose  but  five  or  six  tints, 
and  who  dip  with  their  brush  into  the  parent-colors  to  taka 
from  them  in  that  manner  a multitude  of  tints,  mixed  as 
they  want  them : but,  to  do  this,  one  must  know  something ; 
one  must  even  know  a great  deal,  or  at  least  have  had 
considerable  practice  ; and  to  attain  to  this  facility,  it  is 
necessary  to  know  beforehand  the  effects  produced  by  the 
difierent  mixtures.  Now,  it  is  precisely  by  the  analytical 
method  which  I am  about  to  indicate,  that  one  will  learn 
to  know  them  more  easily  and  better  than  by  groping  one’s 
way  at  random.”  (See,  in  this  Part,  the  close  of  Chapter 
iii.,  and  in  Part  IV.,  that  of  Chapter  ii.) 

“ I would  not  say,  however,  that  on  this  knowledge 
purely  practical,  and  based  upon  a sort  of  calculation,  de- 
pends all  the  art  of  a great  colorist.  No  assuredly,  the 
artist  most  familiar  with  all  the  resources  and  power  of  the 
palette,  will  never  he  more  than  a very  ordinary  or  even  a 
had  colorist,  if  nature  have  not  endowed  him  with  that  delu 
cate  perception,  that  undefinahle  sagacity  of  the  eye,  which  is 
to  painting  what  exactness  of  ear  is  to  musicP* 

Bouvier. 

* “ Industry  will  improve  mediocrity,  but  never  elevate  medio- 
crity to  power. 

**  What  is  every  man  who  instructs  in  the  art  thoroughly  con- 


156 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


CHAPTER  I. 

COMPOSITION  AND  METHODICAL  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THB 
FLKSHTINTS  FOR  THE  FIRST-PALETTE. 

The  simple,  uncombined  colors  of  which  you  will  have 
need  are,  in  number,  nine. 

Suppose  you  wish  to  paint  a head  three  or  four  inches 
high.  You  proportion  the  colors  by  parts  of  which  each  is 
of  the  bulk  of  a cherrystone.  Thus,  for  example,  you 
will  express  from  your  tube  of  Silver  White  (having  neer^ 
of  a greater  quantity  of  that)  twelve  parts,  while  of  Vei 
milion  a single  part  will  be  sufficient,  etc. 

But  if  the  head  be  of  the  natural  size,  you  will  qua^ 
druple  at  least  the  volume  of  the  portions.  A brief  expe- 
rience will  dictate  the  quantity  you  want ; but  it  is  better 
to  err  on  the  side  of  too  much,  than  to  prepare  too  little. 

On  the  centre  of  your  glass  (which  is  in  many  w’-ays 
more  convenient  than  the  palette),  you  place, 

1st,  of  Silver  White  . . . . 12  parts ; 

then,  on  one  of  the  sides  of  the  glass, 

2dly,  Naples  Yellow  (instead  of  white,  in  the 
shades)  ......  2 parts; 

vinced  of?  It  is  this : what  is  teachable,  he  can  teach  ; what  de- 
pends on  organization  of  eye  or  power  of  mind,  he  cannot  supply. 
He  can  teach  to  draw,  decently;  he  can  teach  to  compose,  fairly; 
but  he  can  no  more  give  susceptibility  to  color  to  the  brain  through 
the  eye,  than  Mozart  could  by  teaching  bestow  a susceptibility  to 
iound,  where  the  brain,  through  the  ear,  was  defective,  &c.” 

Havdon. 


FLESHTINTS  OF 

THE  FIRST-PALETTE. 

157 

3.  Yellow  Ochre  . 

• * • 

8 parts; 

4.  Roman  Ochre 

. . . 

4 parts; 

5.  Light  Red 

. 

5 parts; 

6.  Deep  Brown-Red^  or  Red-Brown  Ochre 
(No.  8.) 

3 parts; 

7.  Vermilion 

. . . 

1 part ; 

8.  Some  good  blue-black 

. 

4 parts ; 

9.  English  prussian-blue 

. 

2 parts. 

These  are  the  unrnixed,  or 

parent  colors  you 

will  want ; 

and  of  them,  and  of  their 

combinations  that  follow,  you 

will  arrange  your  little  heaps  in  rows  of  three  grada- 
tions of  tint,  as  indicated  by  number,  placing  them  at  the 
upper  part  of  your  palette  as  close  to  the  edge  as  they  will 
bear,  the  pure  uncombined  colors  (marked  “1.”)  at  the 
♦op  of  each  row  to  which  they  may  belong,  and  the  rows 
beginning  at  the  right  of  the  board,  and  ranging  left  ac- 
cording to  number,  the  “ First  Row  ” being  at  the  extreme 
right : and  to  the  right  of  this  first  row  you  set  a portioi? 
of  pure  White,  in  order  to  take  from  it  as  you  have  occasion 
to  modify  your  tints ; for  observe,  once  for  all,  these  tints, 
however  well  you  may  compose  them,  will  rarely  if  ever 
be  exactly  what  you  want ; they  are  merely  the  nearest 
approach  to  it,  your  observation  directing  you  what  you 
will  need  to  add  from  the  red,  or  blue,  or  yellow,  or  other 
of  the  nine  unmixed  colors,  in  order  to  bring  them  to  the 
precise  tone  you  desire.  This  will  be  in  your  power, 
because,  after  all  your  combinations  are  made,  there  will 
still  be  left  a portion  of  each  of  the  original  colors  on  the 
slab,  which  you  lift  up  separately  with  the  spatula,  and 
deposit  in  distinct  heaps,  in  a line,  on  the  left  hand  and  at 
the  toy  of  your  color-board,  placing  them  in  the  order  they 
are  numbered  above,  the  White  being  at  the  right  of  the 
line,  and  going  left,  so  that  the  extreme  heap  on  the  left 


158 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


hand  is  No.  9. — We  have  used  the  word  heap  that  you 
may  remember  not  to  spread  your  tints ; for  the  more 
compact  each  little  mass,  the  longer  it  will  keep  fresh. 

Reminding  you  now,  that  your  rows  of  prepared  tints 
are  on  the  right  of  the  palette,  while  the  residue  of  the  virgin 
colors,  which  you  remove  from  the  glass  when  your  prepa- 
rations are  all  made,  occupy  the  left,  we  proceed  to  indi- 
cate these  rows  in  their  order. 

Bright  flesh-tints. 

FIRST  ROW. 

1.  Vermilion,  pure. 

2.  Same,  with  as  much  white. 

3.  Same,  and  three  or  four  times  more  white. 

The  manner  of  preparing  the  tints  in  this  row,  will  answer 
once  described  for  all  the  rows.  Of  the  portion  of  the 
original  heap  of  virgin  color  which  you  separate  on  the 
slab,  you  deposit  one  half  in  its  place  at  the  top  of  the 
palette  as  above  indicated  ; it  is  No.  1 : the  other  moiety 
you  mix  with  an  equal  part  of  white.  This  forms  No.  2, 
which  you  place  directly  under  the  pure  cinnabar  just  re- 
moved to  the  palette.  The  small  quantity  remaining  on 
the  glass  forms  the  third  tint,  by  adding  to  it  enough  white 
to  make  it  a light  rose. 

These  first  three  tints  of  the  deadcoloring  serve  merely 
for  the  rose  color  in  the  broadest  light  of  the  cheeks,  and  to 
color  the  lips  in  the  liveliest  parts : for  all  the  rest,  and  es- 
pecially  in  male  carnations,  the  second  row  is  preferable. 

Wipe  the  glass  a little,  but  not  particularly. 

SECOND  ROW. 

1.  Light  Red,  pure. 

2.  Same,  with  a moiety  of  white. 


FLESHTINTS  OF  THE  FIRST-PALETTE. 


159 


3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  of  white. 

For  the  tints  of  a wine-red  or  rose,  and  that  are  less 
Uvely  than  those  of  the  first  row. 

Wipe  the  glass  lightly,  still  occupying  the  same  place. 

THIRD  ROW. 

1.  Light  Red  and  Yellow  Ochre,  half  and  half. 

2.  Same  tint,  with  a moiety  white. 

3.  A little  residue  of  the  preceding,  with  a great  deal 
of  white. 

The  two  last  tints,  but  especially  the  third,  serve  to 
make  the  local  color  of  the  fiesh  in  the  fine  and  hroad  lights, 
adding  still  more  white  if  the  case  require  it. 

Wipe  the  glass  a little. 

FOURTH  ROW. 

1.  Light  Red  and  twice  as  much  Yellow  Ochre. 

2.  Same,  with  moiety  white. 

3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  more  white. 

For  the  more  yellowish  lights  of  the  flesh. 

In  very  pure  and  brilliant  carnations,  like  those  of  a 
great  many  young  children  and  even  young  women,  sub- 
stitute Cinnabar  in  place  of  Light  Red,  to  make  the  second, 
third,  and  fourth  rows. 

We  have  intimated  that  a portion  was  reserved  of  each 
of  the  colors  No.  1,  that  are  at  the  head  of  each  row. 
This  portion  reserved  on  the  glass  should  be  in  bulk  at 
least  equal  to  what  has  been  hitherto  employed  of  the  color . 
This  said,  we  pass  to 

Tints  more  or  less  broken  with  blue-black,  for  the  demitints 
and  shades. 

Begin  by  mixing  up  a part  of  blue-black  with  a fourth 


160 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


of  Thenard’s  Blue  or  of  Prussian  Blue,  if  in  summer ; but 
prefer  the  blue  of  Smalt  (which  is  very  drying)  if  it  be  in 
winter.  This  mixture  you  will  place  upon  a corner  of  your 
slab,  in  order  to  combine  it  with  all  the  reserved  colors 
No.  1,  of  which  we  have  just  spoken.  Make  this  color 
more  copious  than  the  others. 

Shift  the  glass  a little,  and  make  your  combinations  on 
a clean  place. 


FIFTH  ROW. 

1.  Vermilion,  and  a fourth  as  much  of  the  Uue-Uack 
mixture. 

2.  The  preceding,  with  a moiety  white. 

3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  of  white. 

These  three  tints  are  of  violet  shade, /or  certain  parts  of 
the  lips  and  of  the  lachrymal  points.*  The  red  should  pre- 
dominate. 

Wipe  the  glass  a little,  because  of  the  white, 

SIXTH  ROW. 

1.  Light  Red,  mixed  with  a fourth  of  hlue-black  mixture. 

2.  Same,  with  a moiety  of  white. 

3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  of  white. 

For  violaceous  grays  less  lively  than  those  of  theffth  row  : 
but  make  the  red  still  predominate. 

Wipe  the  glass  a little. 

* Puncta  lachrymalia,  are  the  minute  orifices  of  two  small 
canals  which  carry  off  the  tears  from  the  eye.  It  is  between  these 
points  and  the  termination  and  junction  of  the  eyelids  next  the  nose 
that  that  reddish  little  angular  mass,  of  the  kind  called  a caruncle, 
the  caruncula  lachrymalis,  is  situated.  It  is  the  latter  part  evi- 
dently that  Bouvier  means ; and  elsewhere,  where  not  following  him 
so  exactly,  we  have  corrected  the  error  silently. 


FLESHTINTS  OF  THE  FIRST-PALETTE. 


161 


SEVENTH  ROW. 

1.  Light  Red  and  Yellow  Ochre,  the  same  that  you  hav^ 
reserved  in  the  pure  color  of  the  third  row,  to  which  ya 
will  add  a fourth  of  hlue-black. 

2.  Same  mixture,  with  a moiety  white. 

3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  of  white. 

For  the  demitints  which  come  next  the  lights  and  wnos6 
hue  does  not  partake  of  the  violet-gray,  but  rather  of  the 
local  color  of  the  flesh  in  the  parts  that  begin  to  retire  or 
fly,  that  is  to  say,  those  parts  which  do  not  receive  the  light 
in  front  as  respects  the  eye  and  position  of  the  painter. 

Wipe  the  glass  a little. 

EIGHTH  ROW. 

1.  Light  Red  mixed  with  twice  as  much  Yellow  Ochre  ; 
the  reserved  tints  of  the  fourth  row,  with  which  you  are 
to  combine  a fourth  of  hlue-hlack. 

2.  Same  mixture,  with  moiety  white. 

3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  of  white. 

For  the  demitints  that  begin  to  partake  of  the  greenish  cast, 
so  that  the  red  is  not  to  predominate  here ; an  intention 
which  is  provided  for  by  the  preponderance  of  yellow  in 
the  composition. 

Wipe  the  glass  a little. 

NINTH  ROW. 

1.  The  Blue-black  pure,  with  a fourth  of  white. 

2.  Same,  with  more  white. 

3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  of  white. 

For  blue  eyes,  as  well  as  for  all  the  tints  that  are 
more  or  less  bluish  in  the  flesh,  the  white  of  the  eye,  etc.,  or 
to  add  to  the  violaceous  tints  where  red  must  not  predominate* 

Wipe  the  glass  a little. 


162 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


TENTH  ROW. 

1.  The  Blue-hlack,  with  which  you  will  mingle  rather 
more  of  Yellow  Ochre  than  there  is  of  the  black,  and  » 
mere  point,  that  is,  very  little,  of  Vermilion. 

2.  Same,  with  moiety  white. 

3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  more  white. 

For  the  greenish  or  greenish-gray  demitinls  which  still 
partake  a little  of  the  local  color  of  the  flesh.  It  is  there- 
fore, that  a little  red  is  combined  with  it;  though  the 
greenish  tinct  must  predominate. 

Wipe  the  glass  a little. 

Demitmts  the  . nearest  the  shades. 

ELEVENTH  ROW. 

1.  Blue-hlack,  with  which  you  will  mingle  an  equal 
quantity  of  Yellow  Ochre  and  very  little  of  Light  Red,-^ 
for  the  hluish-green  tints  which  already  come  under  the  cate- 
gory of  the  feebler  shades. 

2.  The  same  mixture,  with  a little  more  Yellow  Ochre^ 
and  a little  Naples  Yellow,  but  very  little,— ;/br  the  yellow- 
ish-greens that  fall  into  the  same  rank  of  feeble  shades. 

Shift  the  glass  a little,  and  take  a clean  place. 

TWELFTH  ROW. 

1.  Naples  Yellow,  as  much  Light  Red,  and  a fourth 
only  of  the  same  blue-black  which  has  served  you  hitherto. 

2.  The  same  tint,  with  a little  more  red  and  Naples 
Yellow. 

3.  Same  as  the  last,  mixing  with  it  a little  more  still  of 
Naples  Yellow  (which  is  to  serve  as  white  for  heightening). 

These  three  tints  will  serve  to  paint  the  reflected  shades  ; 
and  you  will  modify  them  into  greenish,  grayish,  or  more 


FLESHTINTS  OF  THE  FIRST-PALETTE. 


163 


or  less  orange,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  reflections 
you  may  have  to  copy : but  you  are  not  to  add  the  least 
particle  of  white,  because  here,  if  the  reflections  appear  a 
little  luminous,  it  is  only  by  a borrowed  light,  or  one  which 
is  cast  into  the  shadow  by  a neighboring  body ; now  in 
such  a case,  it  is  rare  indeed  that  white  has  to  be  added. 

Take  again  a new  place  upon  the  glass. 

# 

THIRTEENTH  AND  LAST  ROW  FOR  THE  FLESHTINTS. 

1.  Brown,  or  Bark-red  Ochre,  mixed  with  a fourth  of 
Blue-Mack, 

2.  Light  Red,  as  much  Yellow  Ochre,  and  a fourth  of 
Blue-hlack. 

3.  Light  Red,  still  more  Yellow  Ochre,  and  less  than  a 
fourth  of  Blue-hlack. 

These  three  shade-tints  may  be  modified  at  pleasure  by 
making  more  or  less  abundant  one  or  even  two  of  the  vir- 
gin colors  that  compose  them ; for  the  blue-black  repre- 
sents the  blue,  and  the  two  others  the  red  and  the  yellow, 
which  are  the  three  primitive  colors  that  tint  all  the  objects 
of  nature. 

As  it  is  indispensable,  in  painting  the  flesh,  to  paint  at 
the  same  time  all  the  objects  that  are  next  it,  e.  g.  a part 
of  the  hair,  of  the  linen,  of  the  draperies,  or  of  the  back- 
ground, and  so  on,  without  which  these  diverse  objects  could 
not  be  melted  or  softened  into  the  flesh,  there  are  cer- 
tain tints  to  be  added  to  the  above  palette.  We  give  them 
in  the  next  chapter. 


164 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  FALETTE  COMPLETED  BY  THE  TINTS  FOR  TH* 

^ ACCESSORIES. 

For  hair  in  general, 

FOURTEENTH  ROW. 

1.  Blacky  Dark-red  Ochre  and  Roman  Ochre; — for  the 
broadest  and  strongest  shades  of  the  hair,  or  for  the  local 
color  of  very  dark  hair. 

2.  Blacky  Yellow  Ochre  and  Light-Red  ; — for  the  local 
color  of  chestnut  hair,  or  for  the  shades  of  fair  hair, 

3.  Blacky  Naples  Yellow  and  Light- Redy  when  it  is  very 
fair  ;—for  the  local  color  of  fair  hair  ; letting  the  yellow 
predominate,  using  only  very  little  black,  and  sometimes 
adding  white  for  the  brightest  lights,  but  only  at  the  end 
of  the  brush. 

Shift  the  glass  a little,  and  take  a clean  place  for  the 
following  mixtures. 


For  Linen. 

FIFTEENTH  ROW. 

1.  Black  pure,  with  half  white ; — for  the  strongest 
shades  ; and  you  may  add,  according  to  the  tint,  a little  of 
yellow  and  less  of  red  Ochre. 

2.  The  same  mixture  already  made,  with  more  white  ; — 
for  \S\e  feebler  shades  ; and  you  may  add,  according  to  the 
tint,  as  before. 


ACCESSORY-TINTS  OF  THE  FIRST-PALETTE. 


165 


& Blue-hlack  pure,  with  a still  greater  quantity  of  white  ; 
for  tiie  light  demitints. 

4.  For  the  great  lights^ — White  pure. 

For  backgrounds 

(of  apartments,  or  others  that  are  not  skies), 

SIXTEENTH  AND  LAST  ROW. 

1.  Black,  red  and  yellow  Ochre — more  or  less  of  the 
one  or  other,  according  to  the  tone  desired  ; — for  the  oh- 
scurest  parts  of  the  ground  ; and  if  the  ground  is  to  be  very 
dark,  this  tint  will  be  made  with  Black,  Roman  Ochre,  and 
Dark-red  Ochre.* 

2*  Same  mixture,  with  a fourth  of  white  ; — for  the  local 
tint  of  the  ground. 

3.  This  last  mixture,  with  a great  deal  more  white,  for 
the  lightest  parts  of  the  ground. 

Note.  It  is  understood  that  if  you  have  not  had  enough 
left  of  the  nine  pure  colors  to  make  these  additional  rows, 
you  will  have  expressed  the  necessary  quantity  from  the 
bladders  ; for  the  portions  placed  as  a reserve  on  the  left 
and  at  top  of  the  palette  are  not  to  be  disturbed  for  this 
purpose. 

* We  do  not  know  that  it  is  necessary,  after  the  explanatory  and 
descriptive  list  of  colors  in  Chapter  ii.,  Part  I.,  to  remind  the 
student,  that  Light-Red  or  Red  Ochre  is  merely  Yellow  Ochre 
calcined,  and  that  Brown-Red  or  Dark-red  Ochre  is  Roman  oi 
Brown  0<’.hre  similarly  treated. 


166 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


CHAPTER  m. 

RETURN  TO  THE  MATTER  OF  CHAPTER  II.  ; WITH  SOME  OB- 
SERVATIONS  ON  THE  ADVANTAGE  TO  A YOUNG  ARTIST  OF  A 
SYSTEMATIC  AND  DETAILED  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  TINT'.I 
OF  HIS  PALETTE. 

Where  the  drapery  or  linen  touches  the  flesh,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  prepare  the  tint  in  this  first  palette,  as  we  have 
already  said,  indicating  the  general  method ; but  not 
otherwise. 

According  to  the  nature  of  the  linen  as  coarse  or  fine, 
bluish  or  reddish,  you  will  make  your  grays  more  or  less 
mixed  with  yellow  and  sometimes  even  with  a little  red, 
for  coarse  linen,  and  compose  it  exclusively  of  white  and 
a little  blue-black  for  fine.  But  it  is  the  nature  of  the 
folds  as  more  or  less  heavy  and  large  that  mark  particu- 
larly the  texture  (see  Part  V.,  Chapter  iv.)  ; and  besides, 
fine  linens  have  always  more  or  less  transparency,  so  that 
they  present  very  rarely  harsh  and  deep  shadows,  or 
whites  that  are  perfectly  white. 

For  the  background  it  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the 
subject ; but  you  will  make  grays  more  or  less  brownish, 
bluish,  greenish,  etc.,  by  giving  predominance  to  one  oi 
other  of  your  three  colors,  so  that  the  head,  hair,  and  dra- 
pery shall  detach  themselves  without  harshness,  and  in  a 
tender  and  harmonious  manner. 

The  brilliant  parts  of  dark  hair  are  usually  of  a tint 
colder  and  grayer  than  the  local  tone,  because  being  a re- 


ADVANTAGES  OF  THE  PRECEDING  PALETTE. 


167 


flection  from  the  light  of  the  sky,  they  borrow  from  it  the 
gray  tint,  more  or  less  bluish,  in  proportion  to  the  greater 
or  less  depth  of  the  local  color.  Where  the  hair  is  fair  or 
very  light  chestnut,  these  lights  are  often  golden,  or  more 
or  less  yellow.  In  this  case,  Naples  Yellow  is  preferable 
to  White.  It  covers  equally  well,  and  is  less  cold  : and  in 
the  brightest  lights  a little  white  can  always  be  added  on 
occasion. — But  it  is  not  in  the  deadcoloring  that  these  de- 
tails are  important ; with  the  resources  of  your  palette  as 
indicated,  you  will  not  be  at  a loss  for  the  tint  you  want. 

In  fine,  while  we  repeat  that  this  plurality  of  tints,  which 
IS  not  usual  with  practised  artists,  is  not  intended  for  them, 
we  cannot  but  enforce  the  strong  recommendation  which 
is  given  for  its  adoption  to  beginners,  by  the  excellent  man 
and  instructor  who  publishes  it.  They  will  thus  have  no 
hesitation,  and  consequent  loss  of  time,  be  tempted  to  no 
experiment  that  will  be  prejudicial,  or,  groping  their  way 
painfully  and  by  slow  degrees,  find  at  the  end  that  it  must 
all  be  retraced ; a course,  which  though  for  peculiar 
geniuses  it  shall  sometimes  result  in  good, — a mighty  good, 
to  which  no  instruction  not  derived  from  their  own  obser- 
vation and  experience  could  probably  have  led  them, — yet 
in  ordinary  cases  will  terminate  in  absolutely  nothing,  or 
leave  the  explorer  lost  in  inextricable  error.  On  the  con- 
trary, while  taught  the  resources  of  the  mother-colors  and 
the  principles  of  combination,  our  young  artist  has  besides 
before  him  a palette  that  he  knows,  with  which,  as  Bouvier 
says,  he  can  operate  almost  with  his  eyes  shut,”  such  is 
its  arrangement  and  the  methodical  succession  of  the  tones. 
Remembering  what  is  the  head  color  of  each  row,  (or  even 
making  a note  of  *hese  Nos.  1.  to  refer  to),  he  knows  at 
once  that  the  tint  directly  under  it  is  the  same  with  an  ad- 
dition of  while,  and  that  the  third,  or  one  directly  under 


168 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


this  again,  has  still  more  while : while  for  the  shade-tint* 
where  no  white  enters,  its  place  he  recollects  is  occupied 
by  yellow.  Thus  he  is  without  any  embarrassment. 

But  we  are  now  to  teach  him  how  he  is  to  use  this  pa- 
lette ; first,  however,  devoting  an  intermediate  chapter  to 
tl:e  method  of  fixing  the  design. 


TRANSFERRING  OF  THE  DESIGN  TO  THE  CANVAS.  13ft 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CS  WHAT  WAY  THE  DESIGN  IS  TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  CANVAi 
OR  OTHER  SUBJECTILE,  AND  THEN  RECTIFIED,  AND  MAD4 
OUT  MORE  DISTINCTLY,  WITH  THE  HAIR-PENCIL. 

A PRACTISED  artist  usually  prefers  to  make  his  design 
directly  on  the  canvas,  because  the  feeling  with  wdiich  he 
is  inspired  communicates  itself  more  surely  in  this  manner 
to  his  outlines ; his  spirit  as  it  were  is  in  his  fingers,  it  seats 
itself  upon  the  crayon-holder,  and  directs  the  chalk. 
Whereas  all  this  fire  is  apt  to  evanish  in  the  tamer  work  of 
calking,  which  is  but  a copying  of  himself,  and  has  the 
disadvantage  which  attends  all  copying,  in  that  the  mind 
is  not  so  much  on  the  alert,  the  imagination  has  already 
done  its  work  either  in  himself  or  in  another,  and  care  and 
skill,  obser\ation  and  dexterity,  are  left  to  b*^  the  sole  ope- 
rators. Yet  the  transferring  of  a previous  sketch  to  the 
canvas  has  some  advantages,  one  of  which  is  of  moment  to 
the  young  artist ; viz.,  the  surface  of  his  can’‘^as  is  not 
worried  by  going  over  and  over  and  over  again,  line  after 
line,  erasing,  restoring  and  re-erasing  the  contours  of  his 
subjects,  which  is  infallibly  the  case  with  an  unpractised 
hand.  He  designs  his  subject  on  paper,  corrects  it  there 
coolly  and  with  safety,  and,  be  it  added,  with  better  oppor- 
tunity of  assuring  himself  of  its  exactness,*  and  when  it 

* We  could  even  go  further,  and  show  the  advantages  of  com- 
peting his  whole  drawing,  and  even  of  coloring  his  drawing,  but 
‘he  repetition  we  have  so  often  been  obliged  to  make  with  pain,  that 
ft 


no 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


is  perfectly  to  his  satisfaction  he  conveys  it  to  the  canvas 
in  one  of  the  following  modes  of  what  is  called  calking. 

The  back  of  the  design  is  smeared  over  uniformly  with 
white  or  red  chalk,  or  even  charcoal,  and  the  paper  being 
fastened  to  the  canvas  by  a couple  of  wafers  at  the  two 
top  corners,  the  chalked  side  next  the  cloth,  the  artist  goes 
diligently  over  all  the  lines  of  his  design,  with  any  instru- 
ment that  may  trace  them  neatly  without  cutting  through 
the  paper.  A knittingneedle  will  answer  the  purpose,  oi 
the  head  of  an  ordinary  sewingneedle  that  is  secured  in  a 
proper  handle.  The  bottom  part  of  the  paper  being  lefl 
loose,  it  can  be  raised  with  care  from  time  to  time  to  ena- 
ble the  artist  to  see  how  the  process  goes  on. 

Otherwise,  a sheet  of  very  thin  paper  chalked  as  before 
may  be  placed  between  the  canvas  and  the  back  of  the 
design.  This  will  save  the  necessity  of  smearing  the  latter, 
while  the  chalked  paper  will  serve  again  for  new  designs. 
It  has  also  another  convenience^  in  that  you  may  move  it 
from  place  to  place  according  to  the  extent  of  the  subject. 
But  it  is  apt  to  shift  its  position  on  the  least  inadvertence. 

A third  method  consists  in  puncturing  with  a needle  all 
the  outlines  of  the  design,  and,  when  it  is  attached  to  the 
subjectile,  striking  on  it  all  over,  but  gently,  in  other  words 
patting  it,  with  a little  bag  containing  a fine  black  dust  of 
a proper  kind  (as  powdered  charcoal),  which  leaves  the 
canvas  dotted  with  the  outlines,  to  be  afterwards  filled  up 
in  the  ordinary  way.* 

our  volume  admits  of  no  theoretical  discussion,  and  little  or  nc  in- 
vestigation of  the  principles  of  the  art,  in  a word  has  nothing  to  do 
with  its  philosophy , checks  us,  and  reminds  us  that  we  have  in  a 
measure  overste{)ped  our  narrow  and  humble  limits  even  in  the 
very  opening  of  this  chapter. 

* All  these  methods  are  very  old.  We  find  them  in  the  Reposa 
of  Rai)hacl  Borghini.  The  last  one  is  not  recorded  byBouvier, 


SECURING  AND  CORRECTING  OF  THE  OUTLINE.  171 


The  sketch  is  transferred ; you  proceed  now  to  rectify 
it,  and  to  fix  it. 

Take  the  palette,  pencils,  and  rest-stick,  and  with  one 
of  the  reddish-brown  colors,  without  admixture  of  white,  and 
with  your  smallest  sable-pencil,  go  over  all  your  principal 
traits,  but  only  in  the  carnations,  adding,  at  the  end  of  the 
pencil,  a little  drying-oil,  in  order  to  render  the  color  more 
flowing,  light,  and  transparent,  as  in  a wash  of  watercolor. 
Do  this  with  a light  and  sure  hand,  giving  all  your  atten- 
tion to  rectify  the  whole  as  well  as  the  details,  if  there  be 
occasion,  especially  in  the  eyes,  nose,  and  mouth,  if  it  be  a 
head  you  undertake.  Your  touches  will  be  slender  and 
delicate  where  the  lights  are  to  fall,  but  broader,  and  full, 
yet  soft,  in  the  shadow-parts.  Moreover,  with  the  point 
of  your  pencil  do  as  in  drawing,  enforce  certain  traits  that 
are  more  strongly  characterized  and  more  energetically 
expressed  than  the  rest.  These  strong  and  broad  touches, 
made  in  the  proper  places  and  without  dryness,  add  a 
great  deal  of  expression  to  the  contour,  and  enable  you  to 
establish  the  shades  with  less  distrust  and  hesitation. 

All  is  now  ready  for  the  first  painting. 

but  we  thought  it  as  well  to  add  it  for  the  information  of  the  reader, 
as  it  takes  up  but  little  space. 


172 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  PROCESS  OF  FIRST-PAINTING  OR  DEADCOLORING. 

Vou  begin  with  the  masses  of  your  principal  shadows 
which  you  lay  in,  without  entering  too  much  into  detail, 
w'ith  a soft  and  thick  brush  and  with  the  same  brownish 
mixture,  using  but  little  paint,  and  keeping  your  color  trans- 
parent as  in  washing  ; modifying  the  tone  by  a little  more 
red  ochre,  to  cover  certain  parts,  as  in  the  nostrils,  the  line 
of  the  mouth,  between  the  lips,  and  sometimes  in  the  cor- 
ners, as  well  as  in  the  thickness  of  the  eyelids  ; in  a word 
everywhere  where  the  hue  appears  sanguine.  Do  all  this 
freely,  without  trembling,  and  be  not  too  assiduous  to  rendei 
your  shadows  very  uniform  ; for  this  is  but  a first  prepa- 
ration.— This  method  has  the  advantage  of  giving  you 
some  idea  of  the  relief  and  general  efFe<^;t.* 

Take  now  firmer  brushes  ; have  five  ;r  six  in  the  left 
hand,  or  near  you.  Store  one  of  them  ? ith  one  of  the  most 
luminous  of  your  fleshtints,  of  those  ir  whose  composition 
there  is  yellow  ochre,  red,  and  a great  deal  of  white,  and 
impaste  in  a broad  and  full  manner  all  your  finest  lights, 
as  if  you  were  laying  the  whites  of  a design  on  gray 
paper.  You  take  for  this,  you  perceive,  not  the  whitest  of 
all  your  tints,  but  one  of  the  lightest  among  the  local  flesh- 
tints  ; for  you  reserve  the  liveliest  and  most  brilliant  light 
to  be  given  in  the  finishing. 

• It  was  the  favorite  method  of  Rubens,  and  of  some  of  the  great 
artists  of  the  Florentine  and  Roman  schools,  as  we  shall  presently 
show. 


THE  PROCESS  OF  FTRST-PAINTING. 


173 


Your  local  lights  thus  placed,  you  lay  next  them  the 
kints,  still  very  pure,  that  accompany  them  on  all  sides  ; 
taking  for  this  purpose  a tint  which  is  now  somewhat  less 
luminous,  though  still  without  admixture  of  black  or  blue. 
You  proceed  thus  by  a gradation  of  tints,  near  and  more 
near,  rounding  the  head,  until  you  reach  the  flying-tints, 
which  begin  to  be  somewhat  sullied  and  broken  by  the 
bluish-black,  that  is,  the  progressive  iinis  from  the  jfth  row 
to  the  tenth  inclusive.  You  will  take  the  greatest  care  to 
employ  each  one  of  them  only  in  proportion  to  the  degree 
of  light  it  expresses,  having  regard  at  the  same  time  to  the 
tint  more  or  less  rosy,  yellowish,  violaceous,  greenish, 
grayish  or  bluish,  wherewith  the  part  is  colored  that  you 
are  at  the  moment  at  work  upon.  But  beware  how  you 
exaggerate  these  broken  tones  in  the  demitints ; for  they 
and  the  local  color  must  form  one  harmonious  whole  whose 
component  parts  are  imperceptible  save  to  the  eye  of  the 
painter,  a scale  whose  nice  degrees  are  measured  off  and 
registered  only  in  his  own  mind. 

From  the  demitints  you  reach  insensibly  the  shadows, 
properly  so  called,  and  finally  the  reflexes,  whose  tints  are 
comprised  in  the  tenth,  eleventh,  and  tivelfth  rows  ; so  that 
you  are  called  to  cover  again  the  brownish  washes  you  had 
first  established.  Observe,  in  this  first  painting,  to  keep 
your  shadows  a little  warmer,  yet  a little  less  obscure,  than 
you  mean  they  shall  appear  in  the  completed  work : the 
reasons,  if  we  have  not  already  elsewhere  given  them,  will 
develope  themselves  to  your  observation  before  your  work 
is  ended. 

But  do  not  seek  to  unite  your  colors  by  teasing  them  into 
one  another  with  the  brush.  This  is  not  the  way.  If  the 
gradatioii  we  have  indicated  be  not  easy,  as  it  certainly 
has  some  difficulty  and  always  gives  some  trouble  even  to 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


a tolerably  practised  eye  and  hand,  yet  it  is  by  such  a 
method  only  that  purity,  relief,  and  softness  can  be  obtained 
in  any  degree  approaching  their  perfection.  When  your 
tints  are  laid  together,  each  in  its  degree,  so  that  at  a cer- 
tain distance  the  effect  seems  gained  by  this  means  alone, 
then,  caressing  them,  as  it  were,  with  a clean  brush,  or 
sometimes  with  one  that  has  color  (if  it  be  of  the  right 
tone),  and  following  the  directions  of  the  forms  as  they  ap- 
pear in  the  model,  you  melt  your  tints  together  in  a few 
moments,  and  the  work  is  over.  (See  Chapter  viii.) 

By  going  back  to  the  close  of  the  last  Part,  you  will  see 
that  the  evidence  of  such  manipulation  is  exacted  by  con- 
noisseurs, for  whose  interest  and  instruction  the  author 
there  translated  published  his  esteemed,  though  certainly 
conceited  volumes  ; and  at  the  conclusion  of  this,  or  of  the 
next  Part,  we  shall  annex  a maxim  ascribed  to  the  cele- 
brated Rubens,  in  which  you  will  find  the  same  principle 
of  operation  inculcated  on  the  student-painter ; these  two 
brief  chapters  serving  to  refresh  your  memories,  as  reca- 
pitulations and  condensations  of  the  pith  of  what  we  are 
now  giving  in  detail,  from  the  still  more  detailed  instruc- 
tions of  Bouvier. 

To  return  to  our  gradations.  If  the  learner  ask,  how  is 
he,  without  experience,  to  know  whether  the  tint  he  is 
about  to  annex  to  one  already  laid  be  its  proper  neighbor ; 
is  Jiis  eye  at  the  very  outset  to  be  the  sole  judge  ? it  is  an- 
swered, no : he  can  test  every  gradation  on  his  palette,  so 
that  his  work  upon  the  canvas  may  be  as  unhesitating  as 
clean.  Thus  : he  has  laid  a tint  in  its  proper  place ; he 
is  in  doubt  with  what  precisely  to  follow  it : he  takes  a 
portion  of  that  tint,  and  beside  it  on  the  palette,  and  con- 
tiguous, he  puts  a sample  of  one  that  is  analogous,  bu* 
somewhat  less  light : if  it  be  found  too  discordant,  or  not 


THE  PROCESS  OF  FIRST-PAINTING. 


175 


yet  sufficiently  broken,  he  mixes  with  it,  at  the  end  of  his 
brush,  a portion  of  the  first  pattern  : but  if,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  appear  too  similar,  for  the  imperceptible  degrada- 
tion requisite  to  make  the  part  he  is  painting  turn,  he  dips 
into  one  of  the  neighboring  rows  for  a tone  less  bright : and 
so  on.  Very  soon,  if  he  have  aptitude,  this  testing  of  his 
tones  will  be  unnecessary. 

But  let  us  see,  whether  an  example,  given  by  the  judi- 
cious artist-author  we  follow,  will  not  indicate  more  plainly 
the  path  of  the  pupil. 


176 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINQ. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

EXEMPLIFICATION  OF  THE  METHOD  INCULCATED  .'N  THE 
PRECEDING  CHAPTER. 

Let  us  suppose  that  you  are  now  about  to  paint  the  cheek 
and  part  of  the  jaw  of  a youtliful  face  that  is  full  and  of 
a fresh  carnation,  and  that  setting  out,  as  we  have  said, 
from  the  brightest  and  freshest  tint,  you  wish  to  reach  the 
most  vigorous  part  of  the  shadows  by  insensible  and  just 
gradations.  Where  is  found  the  broad  light  of  the  swell 
of  the  cheek,  lay  first  the  fine  tint  which  precedes  the 
brightest  on  youi’  palette  (not  the  brightest  itself,  because 
that,  as  we  have  already  said  (p.  172),  is  for  a later  mo- 
ment), keeping  it  to  the  limits  which  the  form  and  tone 
prescribe.  Take  now  a small  portion  of  the  tint  which  is 
above  it  in  its  row,  and  which  is,  you  know,  deeper  of  tone  ; 
mix  it  with  the  former,  on  your  palette,  and  with  the  end 
of  your  brush,  and  judge  if  it  be  well ; add,  retrench,  of 
the  more  colored  or  more  light,  until  you  be  satisfied. 
Place  this  new  tint  next  your  broad  light,  still  keeping  in 
view  the  form.  Compose  in  like  manner  a third  tint,  which 
you  will  place  upon  the  palette  side  by  side  the  second, 
and  to  which  you  will  have  added  a hue  of  rose  a little 
more  decided.  Spread  this  in  like  manner  beside  and  after 
or  all  around  the  two  first  tints,  according  to  the  requisi- 
tions of  the  model  ; then  a fourth,  a fifth  tint,  always  a 
little  more  colored,  until  you  reach  the  part  of  the  cheek 
that  is  decided  rose.  Next  compose  with  the  end  of  the 


DEGRADATION  OF  TINTS. 


177 


brush,  and  in  proportion  as  you  have  occasion  for  them, 
two  or  three  rose-tints,  more  and  more  colored,  until  you 
reach  the  liveliest  incarnadine  that  nature  offers. 

Arrived  here,  you  begin  to  degrade  your  rose,  and  tc 
render  it  progressively  less  lively,  by  adding  to  it  a little 
of  a lilac  or  faint  violaceous  tint,  then  a little  more  still, 
and  so  in  succession,  as  you  get  nearer  the  jaw  or  the 
turning  of  the  cheek,  until  this  lovely  rosecolor  is  lost, 
confounding  itself  by  degrees  with  the  violaceous-gray, 
bluish,  greenish,  or  yellow-reddish  demitints  in  the  parts 
not  yet  shaded,  but  only  flying ; or  indeed,  if  it  be  the 
shadow-side  that  you  happen  to  be  engaged  upon,  you  lose 
the  tint  in  the  mass  of  shadow  properly  so  called. 

This  variety  of  broken  tints  which  we  have  mentioned, 
and  whose  enume^’ation,  partial  as  it  is,  would  sound  pre- 
posterous to  the  ordinary  observer,  who  sees  them  not  in 
nature,  yet  which  the  cunning  painter  knows  well  to  dis- 
tinguish and  to  imitate,  giving  thereby  a truthfulness  of 
representation  to  his  work,  . . . “ tantum  series  junctura- 
que  pallet  ” — this  almost  infinite  diversity  of  color  of  which 
we  have  indicated  but  one  example,  is  we  need  hardly  say 
not  really  existent  in  the  skin,  but  merely  an  appearance 
caused  in  the  first  place  by  the  shades  and  by  that  im- 
perfect obscuration  which  makes  the  demitints,  but  espe- 
cially by  the  effects  of  light  upon  the  down  of  the  skin. 
It  is  this  down,  almost  imperceptible  in  the  light,  which 
modifies  to  infinity  the  tones  with  which  the  demitints  are 
colored  ; it  is  the  distinctive  mark  of  youth  and  freshness, 
such  as  we  have  assumed  for  the  preceding  example. 
Where  it  is  wanting  the  coloring  is  hard  and  glaring,  the 
glow  and  brightness  and  tinting  of  an  apple,  not  the  bloom 
and  mellow  beauty  of  tbe  peach  ; and  this  is  usually  the 
case  with  fine  complexions  in  maturer  life. 

9* 


178 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


It  is  for  the  painter,  especially  of  portraits,  t \>  observe 
the  diversity  wc  intimate ; for,  though  as  a general  rule 
this  down  partakes  of  the  color  of  the  hair,  giving  in  the 
flying-parts  bluish  tints  when  the  hair  is  dark,  and  tints 
somewhat  greenish  when  it  is  fair,  yet  exceptions  are  nor* 
by  any  means  uncommon. 


REFLEXES  OF  CARNATIONS. 


179 


CHAPTER  VII. 

OF  THE  DIFFERENT  TINTS  OF  THE  REFLECTIONS  JN 
CARNATIONS. 

Reflexes  or  reflections,  properly  speaking,  are  visible 
only  in  the  shadows,*  because  of  their  necessary  feebleness 
as  compared  with  direct  light ; and  they  follow  the  same 
law  as  the  shadows,  taking  their  color  solely  from  the  local 
color  of  the  objects  that  send  them  their  light,  and  from 
that  of  the  general  mass  of  the  surrounding  atmosphere. 

Reflexes  then  may  vary  tint  and  light  almost  to  infinity, 
according  to  the  case  and  to  the  objects  causing  them. 
But  as  they  are  always  of  a duller  tint  than  the  real  lights, 
nothing  hinders  one  from  waiting  to  spread  the  general 
mass  of  shade  before  characterizing  them  (except  the  re- 
flection be  of  very  great  extent, — which  supposes  ordina- 
rily that  it  is  likewise  more  than  usually  bright)  : otherwise 
they  must  be  added  to  the  particular  shadow  when  laid, 
taking  for  the  purpose  a tint  brighter  than  the  latter,  and 
calculating  beforehand  what  tone  it  will  assume  when 
combining  with  the  shadow-color  which  is  yet  liquid. 

* A colored  stuff,  or  other  body  sufficiently  translucent,  will  in- 
deed produce  a reflection  on  a surface  not  shaded  ; take  for  exam- 
ple the  familiar  instance  of  a scarlet  or  crimson  curtain  interposed 
between  the  face  and  the  light  of  day.  Yet  in  this  case  the  lig’ 
upon  the  face  is  not  direct,  the  reflection  and  the  light  are  in  fact 
one  and  the  same  thing. 


180 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  METHOD  OF  BLENDING  OR  MELTING  THE  TINTS 
TOGETHER. 

We  have  already  in  two  places  (the  concluding  chapter  of 
the  previous  Part,  and  the  fifth  of  the  present)  given,  as  it 
seems  to  us,  a sufficient  general  idea  of  the  mode  in  which 
the  superficies  of  the  colors  is  made  to  appear,  as  in  nature, 
one,  without  disturbing  or  compounding  its  diverse  tones  ; 
but  young  artists  are  so  apt  to  fail  in  this  delicate  process, 
either  overdoing  the  matter,  or  by  inexpertness  marring  all 
their  previous  work,  that  for  more  assurance  we  shall 
follow  Bouvier  into  a fuller  detail, — thus  isolated  to  com- 
mand more  attention. 

The  operation  is  commenced  at  the  top  of  the  part,  and 
conducted  step  by  step,  without  striding  from  one  place  to 
another,  until  you  duly  reach  the  bottom. 

For  this  you  select  some  soft  and  clean  brushes,  and, 
with  care  to  take  but  little  color  at  a time,  you  dip  here 
and  there  into  the  different  mixed  tints  whereof  you  have 
occasion  in  order  to  blend  one  tone  of  color  with  its  neigh- 
bor. Manage  the  brush  lightly,  without  bearing  on  the 
canvas,  and  let  the  hairs  of  the  brush  be  a little  scattered 
at  the  extremity,  not  stuck  together.  If  the  series  of 
tints  on  your  palette  offer  not  the  precise  tone  you  want, 
wliich  is  usually  the  case,  compose  it  at  the  end  of  your 
pencil,  as  has  been  so  often  directed,  and  endeavor  to  makft 
in  this  way  intermediate  tones  from  one  tint  to  another, 
witliout  encroaching  too  much  upon  either  by  the  move- 


BLENDING. 


181 


ment  of  the  brush,  but  merely  skimming  the  surface  with 
a feathery  touch,  and  in  the  direction  of  the  forms. 

When  two  neighboring  tints  are  so  happily  degraded  as 
to  need  no  intermediate  compounded  tint,  no  semitone  of 
union,  so  to  speak,  all  you  have  to  do  is,  with  a soft  and 
somewhat  loose  brush,  and  with  the  lightest  movement  in 
the  world,  which  is  to  the  ordinary  motion  of  your  pencil, 
what  the  flourish  of  a writingmaster  is  to  his  firmest  strokes, 
to  caress  their  edges,  as  is  elsewhere  said,  and  the  juncture 
disappears.  It  is  the  work  of  a minute. 

Yet  it  is  also  the  work  of  a pliant  and  skilful  hand. 
Nor,  if  you  have  at  any  time  succeeded  badly,  persist  in 
the  ungrateful  eflbrt ; for  this  teasing  and  tormenting  of 
the  colors  will  not  only  sully  your  tones  and  embroil  the 
tints,  but  you  get  mired  as  it  were  in  the  paste  of  paint, 
and  eflbrts  to  extricate  yourself  end  at  last  in  the  deterio- 
ration likewise  of  your  forms.  Better  in  such  case,  leave 
the  evil  as  it  is ; as  the  second  painting  will  afford  you 
every  facility  for  correcting,  ripening,  and  bringing  into 
harmony  this  and  other  imperfections,  crudities,  and  dis- 
cords. 

But  supposing  that  the  fusion  of  your  tints  is  duly  made, 
now  is  the  moment  when  you  may  use  the  dry  softener  or 
blender  to  go  with  a like  feathering  touch  over  the  little 
ridges,  if  there  be  any,  which  the  hairs  of  your  pencil 
may  have  left  in  the  solid  color.  According  to  the  extent 
of  the  part,  you  choose  either  a Jitch  or  hadger  brush.  The 
nature  of  these  tools  and  the  mode  of  cleaning  them  we  have 
already  shown  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  chapters 
of  Parc  I.  We  have  only  to  repeat  what  we  have  there  said, 
or  implied  (p.  94) ; that  their  use,  certainly  to  any  extent, 
for  the  purpose  of  softening  or  fusing  the  masses  of  color 
is  not  approved  of  by  instructed  artists,  very  many  (“  and 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


they  are  usually,”  says  M.  Bouvier,  “ the  most  skilful  ”) 
never  using  them  at  all.  It  is  for  the  beginner,  therefore, 
to  dispense  with  them  as  much  as  possible : and  we  may 
venture  to  assure  him  of  one  thing,  with  regard  to  the 
hadger -Menders,  that  if  he  never  touch  them  at  first,  he 
will  never  want  to  in  the  sequel,  when  he  is  better  prac- 
tised, for  he  will  find  them  utterly  superfluous,  except  as 
dusters. 


FINISHING-TOUCHES 


J8S 


CHAPTER  IX. 

OF  CERTAIN  FINISHING-TOUCHES  FOR  THE  COMPLETION  0» 
THE  FIRST-PAINTING. 

You  have  now  but  to  add  certain  spirited  touches,  in  order 
to  complete  the  deadcoloring  of  your  carnations.  These 
touches  are  given,  some  in  the  lights,  others  in  the  shades, 
but  more  especially  in  the  features  of  the  countenance, 
and  even  in  the  broadest  light  of  the  forehead. 

You  commence  with  this  latter ; you  pass  to  that  or 
those  of  the  nose ; you  observe  if  there  be  anything  to  add 
to  the  bone  of  the  cheeks  and  about  the  eyes  ; thence  you 
descend  to  the  mouth,  and  finally  come  to  the  chin  and  to 
the  ears.  But  be  careful  to  compose  as  they  should  be, 
the  tints  you  will  make  use  of  for  these  different  touches  : 
though  brighter,  they  must  each  participate  of  the  color, 
more  or  less  broken,  of  the  feature  or  part  they  are  ap- 
plied to.  And  not  only  in  this  respect,  but  also  in  their 
form  and  proportion,  their  analogy  to  the  part  must  be  well 
considered  previously  to  using  the  pencil ; for  these  isolated 
touches  are  to  be  made  with  that  freedom  and  boldness 
which  is  necessarily  supposed  by  the  epithet  we  have  pre- 
fixed to  then^  (spirited) : otherwise  they  would  lose  their 
designed  effecL. 

Having  thus  i.  he  first  place  retouched  the  lights,  you 
will  be  better  ab\e  ' preserve  the  proper  harmony  in  giv- 
ing the  enforcing-tb  hes,  than  if  you  had  reversed  this 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


order  ; in  which  case  it  is  probable  you  would  have  markea 
the  latter  too  strongly. 

These  vigorous  touches  are  to  be  given  where  there  is 
too  great  softness,  and  a want  of  character  and  of  transpa- 
rency. The  most  essential  are  usually  those  which  are 
required  in  the  eyes,  particularly  in  the  pupil,  in  the  nos- 
trils, in  the  separation  of  the  lips,  sometimes  in  the  corners 
of  the  mouth,  etc.;  the  whole  depending  not  only  on  tne 
likeness,  if  it  be  a portrait,  but  also  on  the  degree  of  vigor 
which  the  under  preparations  have  already.  In  general, 
the  enforcing-touchcs  should  be  of  a warmly  colored  tone, 
rather  than  dark-gray  and  cold.  The  nostrils  and  interior 
of  the  mouth  especially,  should  be  rather  sanguine  in  the 
first-painting,  reserving  for  them  a subsequent  modification 
in  finishing  the  picture,  which  is  very  easy ; whereas  it  is 
often  difficult  to  superinduce  transparency  and  communi- 
cate a degree  of  sanguine  depth  to  touches  that  are  sketched 
too  black  and  too  opaque.  Remember  this,  and  do  not 
fear  to  exaggerate  a little  these  sorts  of  cavities  in  the 
deadcoloring,  avoiding,  however,  the  doing  of  it  to  excess. 

In  the  bright  touches,  there  is  a fault  that  all  beginners 
are  apt  to  commit,  in  the  painting  of  the  eyes.  Not  only 
do  they  represent  the  ball  too  white,  not  observing  that  it  is 
never  purely  so,  but  they  also  make  the  visual  point,  or  little 
speck  of  light  which  is  usually  visible  on  or  nigh  the  pupil 
in  various  positions  according  to  circumstances,  both  too 
white  and  too  large.  With  the  model  before  them  a due 
observation  will  correct  any  error  in  this  respect,  because 
it  is,  we  are  convinced,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  the  result 
of  mere  routine  : forgetting,  or  not  taking  the  pains  to  as- 
certain, in  the  only  way  it  can  be  ascertained,  the  great 
variety  of  appearance  that  this  part  presents,  according  to 
the  direction  of  the  light,  the  posture  of  the  model,  and  the 


FINISHING-TOUCHES. 


185 


formation  of  the  eyes,  orbits,  and  lids,  the  unobservant 
artist  is  apt  to  plant  the  speck  just  where  he  has  seen  it 
done  by  others,  and  make  it  just  as  white,  as  thick,  as 
large,  without  a doubt  of  its  propriety. 

A hard  and  too  defined  manner  of  marking  the  line  of 
the  eyelashes,  is  another  defect  that  betrays  the  hand  of 
the  beginner.  This  part  should  be  painted  with  a sweet 
and  tender  touch,  even  when  the  lashes  are  very  thick  and 
black.  The  line  must  not  be  equally  dark  throughout  its 
length  ; and  moreover  it  should  be  accompanied,  both  above 
and  below,  by  tender  demitints,  which  prevent  its  appear- 
ing like  the  stroke  o*’  a pen,  as  one  sees  it  round  the  eyes 
of  dolls. 

A like  remark  applies  to  the  other  vigorous  touches,  in 
the  nostrils,  mouth,  etc.  They  are  in  general  the  stum- 
blingblock  of  amateurs. 

Nevertheless  these  touches  must  be  made  with  a free 
band  ; they  are  worth  nothing  when  gone  over  to  sweeten 
and  melt  them.  It  is  rather  by  the  exactness  of  the  tone 
that  they  should  be  in  harmony  with  the  rest,  than  by  means 
of  a lengthened,  and,  as  it  were,  stumped  work ; for 
should  the  touch  when  placed  appear  too  hard,  you  are  not 
to  seek  a remedy  by  jumbling  it  with  the  under  color  ; 
leave  it,  it  can  be  painted  again,  and  with  better  success, 
by  means  of  a juster  tone,  the  more  readily  because  of  the 
thinness  of  the  couch  of  color  in  the  shadows.  Only  have 
patience  till  the  sketch  be  fairly  dry. 

The  first-painting  of  the  whole  mass  of  your  carnations 
is  now  completed.  It  is  supposed  that  in  the  course  of  this 
operation  you  have  at  the  same  time  sketched  or  dead- 
colored  some  part  of  the  hair,  linen,  drapery,  background, 
dec.,  in  a word  some  little  portion  of  all  the  parts  tha 
touch  the  flesh,  as  we  have  previously  recommended. 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


Here  too  you  are  to  avoid  all  hardness,  blending  the  ex 
treme  edges  of  the  two  objects  lightly,  and  adroitly,  but 
without  great  particularity ; and  for  this  purpose  you  may 
use  a fitch. 


WORK  OF  THE  FIRST-PAINTING  DISTRIBUTED. 


CHAPI'ER  X. 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  FIRST-PAINTING  DISTRIBUTED  INTO  DAYS. 

With  the  facility  derived  from  practice,  the  artist  or  ama- 
teur will  learn  to  divide  for  himself  his  labors,  proportion- 
ing his  daily  tasks  accordingly ; though  there  can  be  no 
set  measure  for  what  is  liable  after  all  to  be  controlled  by 
many  circumstances  quite  independent  of  the  skill  and 
promptitude  of  the  operator.  As  a beginner,  however,  he 
cannot  perhaps  do  better  than  follow  the  directions  of  M. 
Bouvier.  At  all  events  the  route  that  amiable  artist  has 
traced,  and  which  with  little  variation  we  have  staked  out, 
if  the  expression  be  admissible,  will  give  him  some  idea  of 
the  time  he  is  likely  to  consume. 

Supposing  then,  that  he  is  painting  ailer  nature,  he  may 
divide  the  operations  of  the  sketch  into  five  days  or  sittings, 
which  will  give  him  time  to  finish  what  he  has  undertaken 
for  each  day,  and  save  fatigue  to  the  model  or  sitter. 

The  first  day  he  v/ill  devote  to  the  drawing  of  the  design, 
or  contour  of  his  subject,  and,  when  perfected,  to  transfer 
it,  the  model  having  gone,  to  his  subjectile.  (Chap,  iv.) 

The  next  day,  he  goes  over  the  outline  with  the  hair- 
pencil  (ibid.),  and  washes  in  the  principal  masses  of 
shadow  (Chap.  v.).  This  preparation  may  be  dry  enough 
the  next  day,  if  the  time  be  summer,  to  enable  him  to  paint 
the  head  without  effacing  either  outline  or  shadow. 

The  third  day,  he  will  compose  his  palette  (Chaps,  i, 
and  ii.),  which  at  first  will  occupy  him  about  two  hours, 


188 


Handbook  of  oilpainting. 


though  further  practice  will  enable  him  to  complete  it  in 
twenty  or  thirty  minutes.  The  model  or  sitter  then  ar- 
rives : the  deadcoloring  is  commenced  ; on  which  he  works 
two  or  three  successive  hours.  Then  allowing  as  much 
time,  or  thereabout,  according  to  the  length  of  the  day  and 
other  circumstances,  for  the  model  tc  rait,  he  resumes  his 
work  sufficiently  soon  to  finisli  it  before  sunset ; which 
will  employ  two  hours  or  two  hours  and  a half  more  for 
the  flesh  alone,  including  with  it  the  little  matters  that 
border  or  touch,  as  mentioned  at  the  close  of  the  last 
chapter. 

Thi  fourth  day  will  terminate  the  whole  first-painting, 
if  it  be  a simple  bust  without  the  arms  ; but  in  the  con  - 
trary case,  the  arms  and  hands  are  to  be  deadcolored  im 
mediately  after  the  head,  and 

A fifth  day  will  be  devoted  to  the  hair,  draperies,  back, 
ground  and  other  accessories  ; which  will  be  exclusively 
treated  of  hi  the  next  chapter. 


BACKGROUND  AND  ACCESSORIES. 


189 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  DEADCOLORING  OF  THE  BACKGROUND  AND  OTHER 
ACCESSORIES. 

For  your  background,  you  should  calculate  the  tint  and 
vigor  so  as  not  to  destroy  the  value  of  your  shadows  and 
yet  to  make  sufficient  opposition  to  the  lights  of  your  car- 
nations and  of  the  accessory  parts. 

As  a general  rule,  the  tint  immediately  about  the  head 
should  he  more  sombre  than  the  demitints  of  the  flesh,  and 
lighter  than  the  real  shadows,  in  order  to  give  the  appear- 
ance of  space  between  the  ground  and  the  figure,  and  con- 
sequent isolation  and  detachment  to  the  latter.  Neverthe- 
less, for  some  striking  effects,  a deviation  from  this  rule, 
which  we  repeat  is  but  general,  is  occasionally  desirable 
and  often  practised.  But  avoid  the  plan  which  is  some- 
times followed  of  making  one  side  of  the  ground  altogether 
dark  and  the  other  in  like  manner  light.  This  produces, 
in  the  simple  portrait  of  a bust,  almost  always  a bad  effect, 
and  is  besides  little  natural,  as  requiring  a particular  dis- 
position of  a chamber  or  piece  of  architecture,  or  curtain, 
etc.,  that  is  not  easily  or  well  represented  in  such  narrow 
limits.  In  large  compositions  or  where  there  are  more 
than  one  figure,  such  bold  effects  are  sometimes  attempted 
with  advantage,  or  at  least  with  propriety  ; and,  where  the 
extent  of  the  canvas  admits,  and  the  distribution  is  well 
managed,  even  in  the  case  of  a single  figure.*  But  on 

* Of  which  the  writer  has  an  admirable  instance  in  his  posses- 


190 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


the  whole,  the  arrangement  is,  as  we  have  saiJ,  to  be 
avoided  by  the  student-painter : it  requires  too  much 
knowledge  of  the  art,  and  too  much  practice  as  an  artist, 
for  him  to  hope  to  venture  it  successfully.  In  like  man- 
ner, in  the  narrow  field  allowed  for  a simple  bust,  the  pre- 
sence of  useless  accessories,  such  as  curtains,  &c.,  is  far 
from  pleasing  ; not  to  say  that  all  such  things  must  in  a 
degree  divert  attention  from  the  head,  without  offering  in 
themselves  any  compensating  merit.  Where  however  the 
arms  are  added,  in  a canvas  of  a little  more  extent,  these 
trifles  are  not  only  not  so  much  misplaced  but  sometimes 
become  even  a necessary  indication,  or  explanation  rather, 
of  posture,  as  for  example  the  arm  or  circular  back  of  a 
chair  which  comes  forward  and  supports  the  hand,  wrist, 
or  forearm  of  the  figure,  the  edge  of  a table,  or  the  like.  But 
even  here  the  advice,  which  Horace  (Epist.  ad  Jul.  Flor.) 
gives  to  the  poet,  should  mutatis  mutandis  be  diligently  ob- 
served by  his  brother  in  art,  the  painter : 

“ At  qui  legitimum  cupiet  fecisse  poema, 

Cum  tabulis  animum  censoris  sumet  honesti : 

Audebit,  queecunque  parum  splendoris  habebunt, 

Et  sine  pondere  eru7it,  et  honore  indigna  ferentur. 
Verba  movere  loco,  quamvis  invita  recedant, 

Et  versentur  adhuc  intra  penetralia  Vestae.” 

That  is  : With  his  pencils,  he  should  assume  the  part  of  a 

sion,  in  a Spanish  painting  of  some  value,  where  the  perspective  is 
of  great  fidelity,  and  the  air  around  the  figure,  despite  the  obscura- 
tion added  by  age  to  the  original  obscurity  of  the  chamber  repre- 
sented, is  by  the  art  of  the  master,  aided  by  this  very  contrivance, 
so  wonderfully  true,  that  it  needs  but  the  removal  of  the  frame  and 
very  little  artifice  to  make  the  picture  seem  a recess  of  the  wall  on 
which  it  is  hung.  These  are  not  its  only  merits  ; but  they  are  tho 
only  ones  that  have  concern  with  the  present  subject. 


BACKGROUND  AND  ACCESSORIES. 


191 


dispassionate  connoisseur  (if  possible),  and  reject  from  his 
design,  at  whatever  cost  of  inclination,  those  things  that  have 
neither  splendor  nor  importance,  and  can  in  themselves  add 
no  merit  to  performance. 

The  color  of  a background  that  represents  no  particular 
scene  or  objects  should  not  be  too  uniform.  You  may  add 
to  it  even  some  large  confused  patches  or  spots,  such  as 
might  be  shapeless  indistinct  clouds  of  diverse  tints  melted 
together  and  almost  insensible.  But  it  is  not  too  near  the 
head  that  these  are  to  be  placed  ; rather  on  the  borders 
and  in  the  corners  : they  should  die  away  imperceptibly  in 
the  neighboring  parts  and  at  some  distance  from  the  flesh, 
the  whole  managed  with  discernment  and  without  affecta- 
tion. The  object  and  advantages  of  such  a treatment  which 
is  explicitly  but  with  a caution  of  discretion  recommended 
by  Bouvier,  nor  less  by  Depiles,  and  others,  are  left  to 
the  young  artist  to  discover  as  he  proceeds,  which  he  will 
not  fail  to  do,  if  he  have  anything  of  that  observation  which 
is  necessary  for  even  tolerable  success  in  painting. 

Treat  all  the  accessories  in  the  deadcoloring  in  a large 
manner  ; not  entering  into  the  minute  details,  either  of  the 
folds  of  the  draperies,  or  of  the  hair.  By  preparing  them 
in  grand  masses,  in  which  the  general  effect  is  well  ex- 
pressed, you  will  not,  when  you  come  to  finish,  be  embar- 
rassed and  fettered  by  petty  details,  perhaps  badly  rendered 
or  disposed  in  the  first-painting,  but  have  a full  freedom  of 
action  to  mark  them  with  precision,  tracing  them  in  chalk 
previously  to  the  repainting. 


192 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  DRYING  OF  THE  SKETCH  OR  FIRST-PAINTING 

Ncver  place  a freshly  painted  picture  with  the  face  against 
a wall : the  exhalations  thence  proceeding,  and  which  Bou- 
vier  thinks  it  not  unlikely  that  the  oil  “attracts  to  itself,’’ 
affect  visibly  the  moist  colors.  This  danger,  however,  cannot 
fee  very  great  from  old  hard  walls  that  for  many  years  have 
Veen  covered  with  coat  after  coat  of  oilpaint.  Still  it  is  best 
o give  the  picture  a free  exposure  to  the  full  light  and  open 
air  (with  the  usual  precautions,  of  course,  against  dust, 
&c.),  and  even  to  the  sun  if  not  too  warm* ; “ for  in  em- 
ploying the  colors  which  I indicate,”  says  Bouvier,  “ you 
need  have  no  inquietude  for  their  solidity.”  When  the 

* If  you  were  to  let  one  of  our  ardent  sunshines,  even  in  the  warmer 
days  of  spring,  rest  but  a few  minutes  on  the  more  liquid  colors,  as 
of  a glaze  for  instance,  it  would  rivel  them  in  a way  that  would  ad- 
mit of  no  cure — none  except  the  entire  removal  of  the  part ; for 
the  light,  instead  of  being  absorbed  as  was  intended,  would  be  re- 
flected by  these  multitudinous  little  wrinkles,  though  you  should 
cover  them  with  coat  after  coat  of  varnish,  and  thus  you  would 
have  a contrary  effect  from  what  was  designed, — a flying-part  for  ex- 
ample coming  forward,  and  a shadow  giving  out  strong  light,  bssides 
the  positive  disfiguration  abstracted  from  any  notion  of  propriety. 
The  sun  of  Geneva  is  not  the  sun  of  New  York.  We  have  there- 
fore thought  it  well  to  add  above  “ if  not  too  warm  for  of  all 
accidents  to  the  surface  of  a picture  there  is  none  to  match  this  in 
inflicting  deformity  on  the  creations  of  the  pencil;  it  were  less  un- 
sightly in  comparison,  if  cracked  from  top  to  bottom,  for  want  of  well 
drying 


DRYING  OF  THE  FIRST-PAINTING. 


193 


weather  will  not  permit  exposure  to  the  air,  it  is  recom- 
mended to  face  it  to  the  window  ; in  this,  as  in  all  other 
cases,  giving  the  canvas  an  inclination  forward  of  four  or 
five  inches,  in  order  that  the  particles  of  dust,  and  other 
matters  that  float  in  the  atmosphere,  may  have  less  facility 
in  attaching  themselves  to  the  surface  of  the  paint. 

When  the  paint  has  lost  its  stickiness,  and  there  is  con- 
sequently no  longer  anything  to  fear  from  the  dust,  reverse 
the  inclination  of  the  picture,  so  that  the  light  may  strike 
upon  it  more  directly,  and  accelerate  the  desiccation. 

As  the  admixture  of  whitelead  greatly  facilitates  the 
drying  of  pigments,  it  is  not  those  which  are  combined  with 
it  to  any  considerable  degree  that  you  are  to  essay,  to  judge 
if  the  sketch  be  dry  ; try  with  your  finger  the  darker  colors, 
those  especially  that  are  much  oiled  : when  these  are  dry, 
the  rest  are  also.*  The  nail  applied  to  the  color  will  not 
scrape  it  up  in  strips,  if  it  be  fully  dry,  but  rather  in 
powder ; this,  where  there  has  been  no  drying-oil  added  : 
but  where  you  have  been  obliged  to  use  this  desiccant,  you 
are  not  to  expect  the  same  result,  for  the  pellicle  which 
rapidly  forms  on  the  surface  of  such  combinations  prevents 
the  evaporation  of  the  oil  and  keeps  the  colors  that  are 
thus  imprisoned  long  tender.  It  will  be  sufficient,  with 
these  parts,  that  the  surface  bears  the  pressure  of  the 
finger. 


We  will  now,  before  passing  to  the  Second  or  Finishing 
Palette,  give  the  maxim  which  we  promised,  and  which  is 

• Consult  your  list  in  Chap,  i.,  Part  I. ; for  there  are  exceptions. 
Thus,  Prussian  Blue  dries  admirably ; it  is  one  of  its  most  pleas- 
ing properties.  The  eye,  however,  will  be  always  a sufficient  guide 
to  tell  you  what  colors  you  must  test,  to  know  when  your  painting 
is  dry 


10 


194 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


ascribed  to  Rubens  : it  will  very  property  connect  the  two 
Parts.  We  find  it  in  various  authors  in  various  languages ; 
though  whence  we  drew  it  directly,  as  here  translated, 
we  have  quite  forgotten.  Besides  serving  as  a recapitula- 
tion of  the  advice  already  given  with  regard  to  the  general 
management  of  the  colors,  comprehending  indeed  the  whole 
pith  of  the  matter,  as  it  were  in  a nutshell,  it  contains, 
even  in  that  little  compass,  an  important  caution  for  the 
preservation  of  the  purity  of  the  shadows,  a counsel  of 
warning  which,  though  implied  in  what  we  have  been 
teaching,  has  not  yet  been  impressed  in  direct  and  distinct 
erms  upon  the  attention  of  the  student-artist. 


kUBKNs’  LESSON* 


CHAPTER  XIIL 

RTJBENS’  LESSON  TO  THE  YOUNG  ARTIST. 

“ Begin  by  painting  in  your  shadows  lightly,  taking  par- 
ticular care  that  no  white  be  suffered  to  glide  into  them  ; 
it  is  the  poison  of  a picture,  except  in  the  lights  ; if  once 
your  shadows  are  corrupted  by  the  introduction  of  the 
baneful  color,  your  tones  will  no  longer  be  warm  and 
transparent,  but  heavy  and  leady.  It  is  not  the  same  in 
the  lights  ; they  may  be  loaded  with  color  as  much  as  you 
may  think  proper,  provided  the  tones  are  kept  pure  : you 
are  sure  to  succeed,  in  placing  each  tint  in  its  place,  and 
afterwards,  by  a light  blending  of  the  brush  or  pencil, 
mellowing  them  into  each  other  without  tormenting  them  : 
and,  on  this  preparation,  may  be  given  those  decided  touches 
which  are  always  the  distinguishing  mark  of  the  great 
Diaster.” 

The  sketches  left  by  Rubens,  of  which  there  are  many, 
show  that  he  followed  the  method  thus  indicated.  We  are 
told  by  Merimee  that  this  master’s  process  of  first  washing 
in  his  shadows,  with  some  brownish  color,  in  the  way  we 
have  already  indicated  after  the  counsel  of  Bouvier,  was 
common  to  the  principal  painters  of  the  Roman  and  Flo- 
rentine schools.  There  are  extant  at  Florence  two  pictures, 
one  by  Da  Vinci,  and  the  other  by  Fra  Bartolomeo,  that  are 
simply  deadcolored  ; and  the  effect  is  made  out  precisely 
in  that  manner.  Rubens,  when  in  Italy,  abandoned  this 


1P6 


HANDBOOK  OF  OJLPAINTING. 


transparent  method  for  the  solid  painting  of  Correggio,  but 
on  his  return  he  resumed  his  first  manner  as  derived  from 
his  master  Otho  Venius.  M^rimee  has  no  doubt  it  was 
the  very  method  of  Van  Eyck, 


PART  IV 


rai  SECOND  OK  FINISHING  PALSTTB, 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING 


PART  THE  FOURTH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

COMPOSITION  AND  METHODICAL  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE 
FLESH-TINTS  FOR  THE  SECOND  PALETTE. 


The  list  of  colors,  and  their  proportions,  which  go  to  form 
'•he  second  paiette  are  as  loliows : 


Silver  White  . • 

12  parts, 

Naples  Yellow  . 

2 parts, 

Yellow  Ochre 

8 parts, 

Roman  Ochre 

4 parts. 

Light  Red 

4 parts, 

Brown  Red 

3 parts. 

Vermilion 

1 part. 

Chinese  Vermilion 

1 part. 

Rose  Lake 

3 parts, 

Deep  or  Intense  Rose  Lake 

3 parts, 

Burnt  Carmim  . 

2 parts, 

Burnt  Sienna 

1 part. 

TJ  Ur  amarine 

8 parts. 

Blue  Smalt 

1 part, 

Blacky  one  of  the  best  of  the  bluish  kind 

2 parts, 

Cassel  Earth 

. 

. 

. 

1 part. 

200 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


Remembering,  or  reading  over,  what  was  said  in  the 
first  chapter  of  the  preceding  Part,  as  to  the  bulk  of  the 
portions,  the  quadrupling  of  the  quantity  for  a head  of 
the  na<’  ral  size,  the  reservation  of  part  of  each- parent- 
color,  as  well  for  a supply  in  case  of  need  as  to  make  the 
demitints,  etc.  etc.,  and  applying  the  same  indications,  in 
every  respect  of  manipulation  and  arrangement,  to  the 
present  palette,  the  young  artist  will  proceed  first  to 
compose 

T-'he  tints  for  'painting  over  the  fiesli  and  lu'minous  parts  of 
the  carnations. 

FIRST  ROW.'*‘ 

1.  Rose  Lake,  pure  ; — for  glazing  the  liveliest  parts  of 
the  lips. 

2.  Same,  with  a little  white  ;—for  the  incarnate  of  the 
cheeks,  i\\e  freshest  part  of  the  lips,  etc. 

3.  This  last  mixture,  with  a little  more  white  ; — for  the 
lips  and  luminous  parts  of  the  cheeks,  if  you  paint  a person 
of  fresh  complexion  or  a child. 

SECOND  ROW. 

1.  Chinese  Vermilion,  pure  ; — for  certain  fine  tones  in  the 
lips  or  elsewhere. 

* By  noting  the  observations  that  are  made  under  the  First  and 
Fourth  Rows  of  the  First  Palette  (Chap,  i..  Part  III.)  you  will  see 
that  you  reserve,  on  the  glass,  a moiety  at  least  of  each  of  the  colors 
No.  1,  in  order,  when  you  form  your  broken  tints,  to  mix  with  it 
Ultramarine  lowered  by  a third  of  some  blue-black.  And  it  is  tc 
be  remembered  that  whenever  Ultramarine  is  mentioned  for  the 
broken  tints,  it  is  understood  as  so  lowered.  Whence  it  is  also 
called,  in  these  rows.  Black-blue.  Ultramarine  is  rarely  indeed 
employed  pure  in  carnations,  except  they  be  of  extraordinary 
freshness. 


FLESHTINTS  OF  THE  FINISHING -PALETTE. 


201 


2.  Same,  with  a moiety  white  ; — for  roses  less  fresh  than 
tlie  Lake. 

3.  This  last  mixture,  with  a great  deal  of  white  ; — same 
purpose. 

Wipe  the  glass,  continuing  however  at  the  same  place. 

THIRD  ROW. 

1.  Ordinary  Vermilion,  pure; — to  take  from,  as  you 
have  occasion,  for  certain  lively  tones, 

2.  Same,  with  a moiety  white  ; — for  roses  less  fresh  than 
the  two  first,  or  to  render  the  lilac  tints  more  roseate, 

3.  This  last,  with  a great  deal  of  white  ; — for  the  same 
in  the  lights,  or  to  render  the  lilac  tints  more  roseate. 

Wipe  the  glass  a little. 

FOURTH  ROW. 

1.  Ordinary  Vermilion,  and  as  much  Yellow  Ochre, 

2.  Same,  moiety  white. 

3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  of  white. 

These  three  tints,  and  especially  the  two  last,  mixed 
with  more  or  less  white,  are  local  fesh- tints  in  the  luminous 
parts. 

Wipe  the  glass  a little. 

FIFTH  ROW. 

1.  A part  of  the  mixture  No.  1 of  the  fourth  row,  add- 
ing to  it  again  a moiety  of  Yellow  Ochre. 

2.  Same,  moiety  white. 

3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  of  white. 

For  painting  the  more  yellowish  parts  in  the  lights,  e.  g. 
the  part  under  the  mouth,  a part  of  the  neck  and  of  the 
shoulders,  etc. 


10* 


202 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


Shift  your  glass  a little  to  the  left,  so  as  to  take  a cleafi 
place. 

SIXTH  ROW. 

1.  Light  Redy  pure. 

2.  Same,  moiety  white. 

3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  of  white. 

These  serve  to  imitate  the  reds  or  roses  that  are  of  a 
vinous  hue  and  little  lively. 

Wipe  the  glass,  because  of  the  white. 

SEVENTH  ROW. 

1.  Deep  Lake,  and  Red  Ochre,  pure. 

2.  Same,  moiety  white. 

3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  of  white. 

Reds  somewhat  violaceous,  for  certain  parts  of  the  lips, 
of  the  nostrils,  of  the  ears,  and  sometimes  even  of  the 
cheeks  and  of  the  nose. 

Wipe,  on  account  of  the  white. 

Tints  broken  wiih  the  black-blue,  for  parts  that  turn  (re- 
treat rounding),  and  for  those  where  the  skin  is  thinnest  and 
most  delicate. 

EIGHTH  ROW. 

1.  Deep  Lake,  as  much  Light  Red,  and  a moiety  of 
Ultramarine  r — for  hues  decidedly  violaceous  in  the  lips, 
cheeks,  &c. 

2.  Same  mixture,  moiety  white  ; — for  the  lilac  tints  which 
are  often  found  about  the  eyes,  and  elsewhere,  as  in  the 
lips,  etc. 

3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  of  white  ; — same  purpose. 

Change  your  place  or  the  glass,  turning  it,  as  before,  a 

little  to  the  left. 


FLESHTINTS  OF  THE  FINISHING-PALETTE. 


203 


NINTH  ROW. 

1.  VUramarine  pure  ; with  which  (if  in  wimer)  you 
will  mix  a twentieth  part  of  Smalt,  to  render  it  more  prompt 
to  dry. 

2.  Same,  moiety  white. 

3.  Same,  a good  deal  of  white. 

To  take  therefrom,  on  occasion,  hluish  tints  more  or  less 
dark  or  light,  when  you  are  called  upon  to  modify , at  the 
3nd  of  your  brush,  certain  tones,  whether  for  the  white  of 
;he  eyes,  or  for  the  bluish  lilac-tints,  and  so  on. 

Wipe  the  glass  a little  ; and  now  make  use  of  the  re- 
!>3rved  moieties  of  your  pure  colors  No.  1,  which  you  were 
reminded,  in  a note  a little  back,  you  were  to  set  aside  on 
the  slab  for  the  following  combinations. 

TENTH  ROW. 

1.  Ordinary  Vermilion,  as  much  Yellow  O'cKre,  and  a 
fourth  of  the  volume,  of  the  two  united,  of  Black-hlue 

for  the  broken  tints  and  the  insensible  degradation  of  the 
parts  that  turn,  which  are  not  yet  strong  shadows. 

2.  Same,  moiety  white  ; — for  lighter  tints,  feeble  demi- 
tints  and  parts  that  turn. 

3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  of  white  ; — same  appropria- 
tion. 

Wipe  the  glass  a little. 

ELEVENTH  ROW. 

1.  Vermilion  and  twice  as  much  of  Yellow  Ochre,  witli 
a fourth  Black-hlue. 

2.  Same,  moiety  white. 

3.  Same,  with  a great  deal  of  white. 

For  the  tints  now  somewhat  reddish-green,  though  still 


204 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING 


partaking  a little  of  the  local  color  of  the  flesh ; — for  cer* 
tain  flying  demitints  that  have  little  freshness,  as  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  visage,  etc. 

Change  your  place,  or  wipe  with  more  care. 

TWELFTH  ROW. 

1.  Ultramarine^  as  much  Yellow  Ochre,  and  a fourth  of 
Rose  Lake  ; — for  the  broken  greenish  hues.  (To  this  first 
mixture,  you  will  add  a twentieth  of  Small.) 

2.  Same  (but  no  smalt),  with  a moiety  white  ; — for  the 
greenish  demitints  more  or  less  light. 

3.  Same  (no  smalt),  with  a great  deal  of  white  ; — same 
occasions. 

Wipe  the  glass,  on  account  of  the  white. 

THIRTEENTH  ROW. 

1.  Black-blue,  a half  less  of  Yellow  Ochre,  and  a fourth 
of  the  volume,  of  the  two  together,  of  Rose  Lake,  with  an 
atom  of  Smalt; — for  the  broken  bluish-greens,  near  the 
shadows  or  beard,  etc. 

2.  Same,  moiety  ichite  ;* — for  the  broken  bluish-greens 
of  the  demitints. 

3.  Same,  with  more  white  ; — for  the  same. 

One  may  add  to  these  demitints,  at  the  point  of  the  pen- 
cil, more  or  less  lake,  according  to  the  case,  and  sometimes 
even  an  atom  of  Chinese  Vermilion. 

Change  the  place. 

FOURTEENTH  ROW. 

1.  Black-blue,  as  much  Yellow  Ochre  (to  which  you  will 
add  an  atom  of  Smalt). 

* To  save  repetition,  observe,  wherever  there  is  white,  the  smalt 
is  omitted,  Bouvier  adding  it  merely  as  a drier.  » 


FLESBTINTS  OF  THE  FINISHING-PALETTE. 


205 


2.  Same,  moiety  white. 

3.  Same,  more  white. 

Pure  greens,  to  take  from  on  occasion,  when  you  would 
modify  a tint  that  you  have  couched  too  red  or  too  yellow- 
red  on  the  canvas. 

Wipe  the  glass. 

For  the  real  Shadows,  where  no  white  enters. 

FIFTEENTH  ROW. 

1.  Black-hlue,  as  much  Roman  Ochre,  and  a fourth  of 
Deep  Lake. 

2.  Same,  adding  (in  place  of  white)  a fourth  of  Naples 
Yellow. 

3.  Same,  with  a little  more  Naples  Yellow. 

Broken  warm-greens,  to  couch  upon  parts  found  too  red, 
or  to  modify  a tint  at  the  end  of  the  brush.  The  two  last 
for  the  same  uses,  only  in  parts  more  light,  be  it  reflexes 
or  dem hints. 

Change  the  place. 

For  the  Reflexes,  without  white. 

SIXTEENTH  ROW. 

1.  Red  Ochre,  as  much  Naples  Yellow,  and  a fourth,  of 
their  united  volume,  of  Black-Hue. 

2.  Same,  with  less  of  hlack-hlue. 

3.  Same,  with  still  less  of  hlack-hlue. 

The  tints  of  the  different  reflections  are  varied  by  adding 
more  or  less  of  each  of  the  three  colors  ; which  is  done 
with  the  brush,  as  the  occasion  calls  for  it. 

Change  the  place. 


206 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


SEVENTEENTH  ROW  (withoUt  white). 

1.  Hed-hrown  or  Light  Red  ochre,  with  a third  of  Black 

him. 

2.  Same,  adding  a third  of  Roman  Ochre. 

3.  Same,  adding  besides  a third  of  Naples  Yellow. 

One  will  take  from  the  parent-colors  more  or  less  of  the 

three  here  indicated,  when  a necessity  is  found  for 
modifying  a tone,  either  to  make  it  more  or  less  yellow- 
reddish,  or  more  or  less  yellowish,  or  more  or  less  viola- 
ceous ; for  all  depends  upon  those  three  colors,  the  red,  the 
yellow,  and  the  black-blue. 

Wipe  the  glass. 

Deep  hr  owns,  without  white. 

EIGHTEENTH  ROW. 

1.  Deep-red  Ochre,  a fourth  of  Roman  Ochre,  and  a 
third  of  hlack-hlue  (of  No.  30  and  a point  of  smalt)  ;—for 
the  most  vigorous  parts  of  the  shadows.  As  in  the  row 
above,  one  may  modify  the  tones  at  pleasure. 

2.  Same,  with  a little  more  Roman  Ochre  ; — for  parts 
more  ruddy  and  less  vigorous. 

3.  Same,  with  the  addition  of  a little  Naples  Yellow  ; — 
for  parts  still  less  vigorous. 

Change  the  place. 

NINETEENTH  ROW  (withoUt  whitc). 

Ic  Burnt  Carmine  (with  a very  little  drying-oil). 

2.  Same,  with  a moiety  of  Burnt  Sienna  (do.) 

3.  Deep  Lake  (with  a little  drying-oil.) 

4.  Same,  with  a moiety  of  Burnt  Sienna  (do.) 

These  four  tints  are  very  dark  hrowns,  while  at  the  same 

lime  they  are  sanguine  and  more  or  less  warm  of  tone.  They 


FLESHTINTS  OF  THE  FINISHING-PALETTE. 


20V 


serve  for  the  most  vigorous  touches  in  the  finishing  oi  a head ; 
e.  g.  in  the  mouth  and  nostrils,  and  sometimes  even  in  cer- 
tain parts  of  the  eyes  or  of  their  setting. 

The  drying-oil  is  to  be  added  only  as  you  use  the  colors ; 
and  at  the  point  of  the  brush  ; a recapitulation  of  a pre- 
vious instruction  that  applies  likewise  to  the  succeeding 
row. 

Wipe  the  glass. 

TWENTIETH  ROW  (without  white). 

1.  Burnt  Sienna  (a  little  drying-oil); — for  certain  very 
warm  touches,  as  well  as  to  take  from  on  occasion. 

2.  Cassel  Earth  (a  little  more  drying-oil)  ; — to  he  used 
in  the  yupil  or  in  the  middle  of  the  pupil  of  the  eye. 

Wipe  the  glass. 

As  in  the  sketch,  so  here  in  the  repainting,  the  parts  of 
the  linen,  hair,  etc.,  that  touch  the  flesh  are  to  be  provided 
for  in  the  same  palette.  If  for  this  purpose  there  be  not 
sufficient  left  of  your  uncombined  colors,  you  will  of  course 
express  new  portions  from  the  bladders,  or  otherwise. 
The  supplementary  tints,  to  be  thence  formed,  will  follow 
n the  succeeding  chapter. 


908 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


CHAPTER  II. 

COMPLETION  OF  THE  SECOND  PALETTE. 

TWENTY-FIRST  ROW. 

1.  Black,  pure  (using  with  it  drying-oil,  in  the  manner 
previously  dictated) ; — to  take  from  on  occasion,  as  well  as 
to  paint  the  conterminous  portions  of  Mack  drapery  or  acces. 
sories. 

2.  Same  (but  no  drying-oil),  with  a moiety  white  ; — fot 
like  purposes. 

3.  Same  (no  drying-oil),  with  a great  deal  of  white  ; — 
for  grays  of  shadows  in  linens. 

4.  Same,  with  so  great  a portion  of  white,  that  the  latter 
shall  seem  but  little  sullied  ; — for  the  parts  of  linens  that 
are  not  altogether  white,  or  to  mix  with  other  grays.  (Of 
course,  no  drying-oil.) 

TWENTY-SECOND  ROW ; for  Unens,  backgrounds,  etc. 

1.  Black,  a third  of  white,  and  a little  of  Red  Ochre  and 
Roman  Ochre. 

2.  Same,  with  a little  more  of  the  two  latter  colors. 

These  two  warm-grays  serve  for  the  deep  shadows  of 

linens  or  for  their  refexes,  the  painter  modifying  the  tint  at 
pleasure.  They  answer  too  for  the  shadows  of  the  white  of 
the  eyes  ; and  especially,  to  paint  the  portions  of  the  ground 
that  touch  the  carnations,  etc. 

For  backgrounds,  the  row  must  of  course  be  made  abun- 
dant. 


COMPLETION  OF  THE  PALETTE. 


209 


Though  it  is  understood,  and  indeed  intimated  at  the 
close  of  the  preceding  chapter,  that,  in  like  manner  as  in 
the  deadcoloring,  you  are  to  paint  at  the  same  time  with 
the  flesh  the  ends  of  the  hair,  borders  of  the  drapery,  etc., 
where  they  touch  the  flesh  ; and  this,  to  prevent  hardness  ; 
yet  we  have  indicated  no  particular  tints  for  such  intentions, 
for  the  simple  reason,  that  circumstances  and  the  nature 
of  the  model  make  in  either  case  an  indefinite  variety. 
Only  be  Oareful  that  such  portions  of  hair  and  drapery, 
and  likewise  of  the  ground,  that  you  may  have  to  paint 
at  present,  be  but  thin  of  color,  and  that  this  lay  melt 
away  imperceptibly  at  a third  or  half  of  an  inch  from  the 
flesh,  so  that  when  you  come  to  paint  up  these  parts  after 
the  flesh  is  completed,  you  will  not  be  embarrassed  by  a 
thickness  of  color  in  the  little  portions  of  them  already  laid. 
For  the  rest,  by  referring  back  to  the  corresponding  chap- 
ter of  the  First  Palette  (Chap,  ii..  Part  III.),  the  general 
tints  that  serve  for  hair  in  the  repainting  as  in  the  dead- 
coloring will  be  found  prescribed.  Of  the  background  and 
draperies  the  due  details  will  be  given  in  their  proper  di- 
visions, and  especially  of  the  draperies,  which  will  be 
treated  in  a Part  by  themselves. 

Applying  to  the  present  scale  of  chromatic  combinations 
what  has  been  said  of  the  preparatory  palette  (see  p.  155 
and  p.  167),  that  it  is  intended  for  the  artist  or  amateur  at 
his  outset  only,  his  own  observation  being  sure  to  dictate, 
as  he  advances  in  the  course  and  gains  experience,  a very 
considerable  diminution,  not  merely  in  the  compounded  tints, 
but  likewise  in  the  parent-colors  that  head  the  series,  we 
will  proceed  without  further  observation  to  the  mode  of 
conducting  the  Second  Painting.  And  first,  the  sketch  is 
to  be  got  ready  to  receive  it ; which  will  precede,  of  course^ 
in  point  of  time,  the  making  of  the  palette. 


210 


HANDB06K  OF  OILPAtNTING. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOW  TO  PREPARE  THE  SKETCH  FOR  REPAINTING. 

When  the  deadcoloring  is  found  to  be  sufficiently  dry,  you 
take  a knife  with  a very  thin,  uniform,  and  sharp  blade, 
rounded  at  the  end,  like  an  ordinary  tableknife,  and  scrape 
off,  lightly  and  with  address,  the  too  great  prominences  of 
color  which  appear  in  places.  To  do  this  the  more  readily 
and  with  the  less  risk,  you  face  the  window  and  holding 
the  picture  before  you,  you  incline  it  in  such  a manner 
that  the  rays  of  light  may  catch  the  projections  of  color, 
and  glide  feebly  over  the  other  parts ; while  to  avoid  taking 
off  too  much  you  hold  the  blade  nearly  perpendicular  to 
the  plane  of  the  picture,  and  move  it  lightly,  as  we  have 
said,  over  the  crust  of  paint.  Some,  we  believe  indeed 
the  most  of  artists,  use  a razor ; others  the  scraper  em- 
ployed for  a similar  purpose  by  miniaturepainters,  which 
is  a small  lance-shaped  blade  fixed  permanently  in  a light 
handle,  and  differing  in  no  respect  from  that  of  engravers 
except  perhaps  in  being  a little  longer  and  more  pointed, 
that  is,  not  so  much  in  the  form  of  a heart.  With  this 
little  instrument,  or  one  like  it  of  a larger  size,  it  seems  to 
us  the  touch  is  necessarily  more  delicate,  than  with  the 
knife-blade  recommended  by  Bouvier. 

Should  there  be  any  dirt,  or  foreign  substance  whatever, 
attached  to  the  colors  of  your  sketch  that  may  be  removed 
by  the  same  means,  use  it  unhesitatingly,  but  still  with  due 
caution. 


PREPARATION  FOR  "REPAINTING. 


211 


This  operation,  or  these  operations  finished,  you  wash 
your  picture  with  plenty  of  fair  and  pure  water,  by  means 
of  a large  soft  sponge,  going  over  it  repeatedly.  If  the 
paint  be  perfectly  dry,  the  water  will  not  retreat  from  any 
part  of  it, — except  where  drying-oil  has  been  used.  Then, 
when  the  washing  is  completed,  using  the  same  sponge, 
wrung  out,  to  absorb  all  that  is  possible  in  this  way  of  the 
water,  you  expose  the  sketch  to  the  open  air,  to  the  sun, 
or,  at  a proper  distance,  and  with  due  caution,  even  to  the 
fire,  to  dry  it  completely.  When  this  is  done,  the  sketch 
is  ready  for  the  second  painting. 


212 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  PROCESS  OF  THE  SECOND-PAINTING  ; FOR  THE  lOttD 
IN  GENERAL. 

Read  over,  in  Part  III.,  what  has  been  said  of  the  first- 
painting  ; for  the  same  general  rules,  that  govern  the  pro- 
cess of  deadcoloring,  apply  in  like  manner  to  the  finishing 
stage  of  your  work. 

As  in  the  sketch  or  first-painting,  you  begin  with  the 
forehead.  You  lay  in  next  the  brightest  light,  not  forget- 
ting to  reserve  therein  certain  still  more  brilliant  touches 
to  be  given  subsequently.  Then  you  put  together  your 
different  gradations  of  tints  ; but  with  still  more  regard  for 
the  exactness  of  the  tone  than  you  observed  in  the  first- 
painting,  and  with  still  more  care  not  to  sully  them  by 
teasing.  Paint  at  the  same  time  a part  of  the  hair  at  its 
insertion,  as  well  as  of  all  objects  that  border  the  flesh,  in 
order  that  you  may  melt  them  with  due  tenderness  one 
into  the  other.  But  you  are  not  yet  to  work  at  the  prin- 
cipal shadows,  as  you  did  in  the  sketch. 

When  your  masses  of  light  are  well  established,  as  well 
as  their  degradations  into  pure  and  local  colors,  pass  to 
the  neighboring  tints,  which  are  now  demitints  more  or  less 
broken  in  diverse  tones,  yellow-reddish,*  bluish,  violaceous, 

* The  French  are  more  fortunate  than  we  in  certain  terms  of 
their  chromatology  (which  indeed,  in  general,  is  far  more  exact 
than  the  English).  Thus  they  distinguish  roux  and  rouge'  the 
latter  being  pure  red,  i.  e.  without  admixture  of  either  yellow  ox 


SECOND-PAINTING  ; FOR  THE  HEAD  IN  GENERAL.  213 

greenish,  etc.,  comparing  with  the  most  scrupulous  atten- 
tion the  value  of  these  in  relation  to  the  great  lights  and  to 
the  general  mass  of  the  local  fleshtint.  Proceed  thus  by 
due  degrees  to  the  strongest  demitints,  and  finally  to  the 
shadows  and  reflexes. 

It  is  by  a sustained  attention  to  compare  continually  the 
value  of  the  demitints  in  relation  to  the  lights,  and  the 
value  of  the  shadows  in  relation  to  the  demitints,  that  you 
will  succeed  in  rounding  your  work  and  making  it  faithful 
to  the  model.  Yet,  need  we  say,  that  if  the  demitints,  and 
in  general  all  the  broken  tints,  and  even  the  vigorous 
shadows,  be  not  kept  a little  lighter  than  they  appear  in 
the  original,  our  young  artist  will  find  to  his  surprise  and 
vexation,  when  his  picture  is  done  and  dry,  that  all  these 
parts  have  become  darker  than  he  designed  to  have  them  ? 
We  have  given  in  other  places  more  than  one  admonitory 
hint  to  this  effect ; but  his  own  experience,  that  finishing- 
master  in  all  arts,  will  soon  enable  him  to  make  his  calcu- 

blue;  whereas  the  former  indicates  a foul  orange.  Hence  the 
adjective-termination  atre  corresponding  to  our  ish,  making  of  the 
first  named  roussatre,  and  of  the  other  rougedtre,  gives  them  a 
chromatic  epithet  for  which  we  have  no  corresponding  term.  In 
order,  therefore,  to  observe  that  precision  which  we  hold  to  be  in- 
dispensable in  these  matters  (though  such  is  not  the  usual  opinion  ; 
at  least,  it  is  never  strictly  acted  upon  in  our  great  language,  whose 
writers  have  never  in  any  department  of  letters  seemed  anxious  to 
add  to  its  acknowledged  copiousness  and  power  the  merit  of  ex- 
actness), we  have  been  obliged  to  make  a very  awkward  compound 
epithet;  for  sandy,  which  is  our  true  vernacular  and  popular  worrl 
for  rowa:,  would  be  liable  to  misconstruction  here,  and  its  diminutive 
sandyish  would  be  not  more  barbarous  than  unintelligible.  As  for 
our  derivate  word  russet,  it  does  not  quite  express  the  hue  that  is 
roussatre,  although  in  ordinary  language,  i.  e.  for  general  purposes, 
the  words  are  metaphrastic,  or  literally  translate  one  another ; 
being  applied  to  indicate  a brownish-red,  or  rust-color. 


214 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


lations  for  himself,  here  as  in  every  step  of  his  thoughtful 
operations. 

Of  the  shadows  we  have  already  elsewhere  said  suffi. 
cient  to  supersede  the  necessity  of  detailing  the  mode  of 
treatment  here.  The  transparent  colors  in  which  they  are 
repainted,  which  let  the  warmer  and  yet  lighter  shade  of 
the  sketch  show  through,  altered  to  the  required  tone  by  the 
medium  of  this  colored  veil,  give  a great  power  of  modifi- 
cation in  the  part,  if  discreetly  managed. 

The  reflexes  are  painted  in  thicker  color  than  the 
shadows,  but  less  impasted  than  the  lights  ; and  you  are 
to  avoid  as  much  as  possible  employing  white  in  their  tints : 
a '.matter  of  no  difficulty,  since  Naples  Yellow  is  sufficiently 
opaque  and  luminous  to  take  its  place.  The  red  and  yel- 
low ochres  do  not  affect  this  pigment,  neither  is  it  changed  by 
admixture  with  the  lakes,  with  Ultramarine,  or  even  with 
the  bluish  blacks ; besides,  should  it  take  somewhat  of  a 
greenish  cast  in  the  reflections,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the 
effect  would  not  be  anyway  so  prejudicial  as  in  the  lumi- 
nous ffeshtints,  to  whose  composition  its  dangerous  ma- 
terial is  so  inimical.* 

* See  what  is  remarked  on  pp.  10  and  11  (including  the  note)  as 
■o  this  suspicious  though  valuable  pigment.  We  have  there  said, 
that  we  found  in  the  various  recipes  for  its  fabrication  no  intimation 
of  the  presence  of  arsenic.  On  reflection,  it  may  be  that  arsenic 
was  in  combination  with  the  antimony  or  lead,  or  even  zinc;  for  it 
forms  a constituent  part  of  some  species  of  all  those  metals.  In- 
deed the  arseniate  of  lead  is  of  itself  yellow.  And  if  we  suppose 
this  salt  to  have  been  used,  we  have  at  once  accounted-for  the  fact 
observed  by  Bouvier.  However,  a mere  want  of  purification  of  the 
metals  employed  would  be  sufficient  to  render  dangerous  as  a pig- 
ment many  of  the  specimens  of  Naples  Yellow. 

For  the  benefit  of  the  student,  we  take  the  occasion  of  this  note, 
to  add,  that  at  Dechaux’s  he  will  find  four  sorts  of  this  pigment,  all 


second-painting;  for  the  head  in, general.  215 

As  for  the  mode  of  modifying  any  of  your  various  tints, 
when  the  tone  as  you  have  mixed  it  proves  not  sufficiently 
exact  for  what  we  may  call  your  diatonic  scale  of  color,* 
it  is  fully  set  down  and  exemplified  in  the  previous  Part 
We  therefore,  as  at  the  opening  of  the  chapter,  recommend 
the  reading  over  of  all  the  instructions  there  given  for  the 
deadcoloring,  and  pass  at  once  to  certain  special  details  of 
the  second-palette. 

of  French  manufacture,  and  differing  from  one  another  not  only  in 
tone  but  in  color.  To  choose  which  will  be  most  proper  for  his 
purposes,  is  for  himself,  and  to  test  the  character  of  his  sample 
will  not  be  difficult. 

* It  may  amuse  and  even  instruct  the  reader,  if  he  be  musically 
given,  as  we  hope  he  is, — for  music,  as  well  as  poetry,  is  no  mean 
helpmate  to  the  full  perception  and  enlightened  performance  of  our 
art, — to  say  that,  in  a like  figurative  manner,  this  very  “ modify- 
ing ” might  (when  most  extensively  conducted)  be  termed  the  mo- 
dulation  of  the  piece  (which  is  the  whole  harmonious  series  of 
tones  or  tints) ; the  differences  by  which  the  modification  is  effected, 
the  chromatic  intervals ; the  parent-colors.  No,  1,  the  natural 
tones  ,*  and  so  on  Of  the  general  student  it  will  be  necessary  per- 
haps to  beg  pardon  for  such  a deviation  from  our  straight  and  una- 
dorned course. 


Add.  If  the  student  have  a little  knowledge  of  music  (the  sci- 
ence), and  at  the  same  time  be  accustomed  to  abstract  studies, 
and  of  a logical  turn  of  mind,  we  can  recommend  to  him,  most 
cordially.  Field’s  Chromatics — (Lond.,  new  ed.,  1845).  It  is  costly, 
but  will  well  repay  him.  If,  however,  he  want  any  one  of  those 
throe  qualifications,  it  will  be  quite  beyond  his  reach,  as  well  as 
utterly  without  relish  ; and  his  money  will  be  thrown  away.  It  is 
an  ingenious,  though  occasionally  fanciful  book ; that  is,  it  falls  at 
times  into  the  common  fault  of  theorists,  of  being  too  subtle  in  the 
search  of  illustration.  We  have  just  spent  two  most  delightful 
days  in  reading  it,  and  recommend  it,  not  to  the  young  artist  as 
useful,  but  to  the  experienced  one — if  any  such  should  be  among 
our  readers,  as  deeply  interesting. 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  PROCESS  FOR  THE  EYES,  AND  PARTS  CONNECTED. 

It  is  about  the  eyes  we  find  most  usually  the  finest  tones. 
The  skin  being  there  of  greater  delicacy  and  transparence, 
the  rosetints  take  a violet  cast,  or  a bluish  tint  is  predomi- 
nant, etc.  etc.,  according  to  the  complexion,  age,  health, 
and  sex  of  the  model,  and  even  to  the  particular  affections 
of  the  sitter’s  mind  at  the  time  of  the  copy,  to  the  light 
too  of  the  scene,  and  so  forth. 

The  ball  of  the  eye  we  have  already  warned  the  beginner 
against  painting  a staring  white.  The  same  caution  is  to 
be  observed  now.  For  the  pupil,  the  more  the  face  is 
painted  in  profile  the  more  oval  it  must  be  represented  to 
follow  nature  ; as  more  of  the  face  is  seen,  so  the  pupil 
appears  more  round.  Be  careful  to  avoid  hardness  in  the 
exterior  circle  of  this  part : melt  it  into  the  white  of  the 
orb  by  a scarcely  perceptible  bluish-gray  tint.  In  the  in- 
ternal angle  of  the  eye,  do  not  exaggerate  the  red  of  the 
caruncle,  that  little  triangular  mass  of  pulpy  and  bare  flesh 
which  separates  the  corners  of  the  two  lids  ; neither  make 
it  too  large.  And  endeavor  to  represent  that  slight  humid- 
ity which  perpetually  moistens  and  gives  life  to  the  orb. 

If  you  look  at  the  eyes  in  front,  at  the  distance  you  are 
seated  from  the  model,  you  see  the  lashes  of  the  upper  lid 
not  as  single  hairs,  nor  even  as  hairs  at  all,  but  as  a dark 
semicircular  narrow  mass,  or  line  of  shade,  varying  in 


THE  EYES  AND  PARTS  CONNECTED. 


217 


breadth  as  the  head  turns  this  way  or  that  upon  its  axis^ 
but  always  less  apparent  in  that  part  of  the  lid  which  is 
next  the  nose  * while  in  the  lower  lid  the  shade  is  only  just 
perceptible,  except  in  very  dark  persons,  or  where  the  eyes 
are  unusually  well  fringed.  So  then  represent  the  lashes  ; 
nor  bring  your  model  nearer  in  order  to  detail  them  hair 
by  hair.  And  here  too  all  hardness  is  to  be  avoided  ; the 
line  being  blended  harmoniously  with  the  flesh  by  means 
of  tender  demitints.  Where  the  thickness  of  the  upper 
hd  is  visible,  under  the  lashes,  to  wit  near  the  outer  corner 
of  the  eye,  it  is  to  be  duly  represented. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  we  cautioned  the  beginner 
against  the  usual  error  of  his  class  in  making  the  eyebrow 
too  hard  and  too  uniform.  The  flesh  must  first  be  prepared 
which  is  seen  through  the  hairs,  and  which  is  more  or  less 
shadowed  by  their  mass.  Over  this  preparation,  which  is 
to  be  couched  very  thin,  the  brows  themselves  are  to  be 
painted,  according  to  the  shape,  color,  and  thickness,  which 
nature  has  given  them  in  the  individual-model.  What  has 
been  said  of  the  lashes,  of  the  mode  of  expressing  them  with 
proper  softness,  and  of  delineating  them  only  as  they  present 
tnemseives  to  the  eye  of  the  painter  when  in  his  place  a., 
the  due  distance  from  his  model,  applies  likewise  here. 
Add  to  this,  what  we  have  already  said  of  these  parts  in 
the  sketch.  Whe/e  scattered  and  projecting  hairs  appear 
in  the  brows,  as  is  frequently  the  case  with  very  old  men, 
and  sometimes  in  younger  persons  whose  eyebrows  are  of 
peculiar,  and,  so  to  say,  rude  formation,  these  are  to  be 
represented  with  a free,  not  labored  touch,  that  is,  if  they 
be  visible  in  this  disorder  at  the  ordinary  distance,  and 
if  they  be  essential  to  the  likeness,  or,  when  not  a portrait, 
to  the  character  of  the  head  ; for  we  take  it  for  granted 
that  unless  for  a peculiar  effect  of  character,  no  one  would 
10 


218 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


BO  sin  against  the  principle  of  beauty  as  to  represent  such 
from  choice.  In  the  appearance  vvliich  tlie  extremities  of 
the  brows  present,  particularly  at  the  side  next  the  tern, 
pies,  to  wit,  in  their  insensible  diminution,  the  sparseriess 
of  the  hairs,  or  their  greater  divergence  from  the  main  line, 
both  above  it  and  below,  which  is  oftener  the  case  with  men 
than  women,  you  will  observe  and  follow  nature  ; only, 
once  for  all,  (and  this  is  to  follow  nature),  avoid  hardness. 

To  paint  the  eyebrows,  do  not  take  brown  of  Cassel- 
«‘arth  ; be  content  with  the  browns  which  you  compose, 
with  the  end  of  your  pencil,  of  blacks,  yellows,  and  red 
ochres.  They  will  be  dark  enough  for  your  purpose,  and 
at  least  you  will  not  run  the  risk  of  soiling  your  carna- 
tions by  bituminous  mixtures.  You  will  always  have  time, 
with  a third  touch,  to  glaze  the  centre  of  the  more  vigorous 
parts  with  a composite  brown,  which  you  will  modify  ac- 
cording to  the  hue  and  tone  required  ; but  it  is  only  in  rare 
cases  that  one  can  venture  to  give  certain  isolated  touches  or 
hatches  in  the  shadowed  mass  of  the  thickest  parts  of  the 
brow.  As  for  fair  or  chestnut  brows,  the  same  principles 
are  to  be  followed,  avoiding  with  even  still  more  care  a 
hard  and  meagre  manner  and  servility  of  detail. 


NECK,  SHOULDERS,  AND  BREAST. 


219 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  PAINTING  OF  THE  NECK,  SHOULDERS,  AND  BREAST. 

In  general,  however  white  the  neck  of  a woman,  it  should 
not  be  so  luminous  as  the  brightest  lights  of  the  head,  be- 
cause from  its  usual  vertical  position  the  light  generally 
glides  from  it,  instead  of  catching  as  upon  the  salient  parts. 

Yet  if  white,  and  of  a fine  carnation  in  the  individual- 
model,  it  should  not  appear  less  pure  in  the  imitation.  It  is  not 
then  by  reddish,  yellowish  or  yellow- red  tints  that  you  must 
degrade  its  whiteness,  but  by  light  tints  of  a bluish,  greenish 
or  sometimes  even  violaceous,  demi-gray.  The  choice  will 
depend  upon  the  natural  appearance  ; though  often  diffe- 
rent parts  of  the  neck  will  participate,  in  different  places, 
of  one  or  other  of  these  tints,  and  again  of  a certain  com- 
bination of  all  of  them  at  once.  Observe,  consider, 
essay,  until  you  have  the  exact  tone,  which  is  usually  so 
delicate  that  at  first  sight  it  will  seem  impossible  to  seize 
it.  Yet  it  is  to  be  done  ; otherwise  in  endeavoring  to  de- 
grade the  color  so  as  to  throw  the  neck  into  its  position 
under  the  jaw,  you  may  make  the  tint  too  yellow,  too  green, 
too  brown,  or  too  livid,  or  in  some  other  way  falsify  nature, 
and  destroy  the  bloom  and  freshness,  the  very  youth  and 
soundness  of  the  part,  and  produce  a sad  discordance  with 
the  visage.  These  observations,  of  course,  suppose  the 
neck  in  the  ordinary  position. 

The  slope  from  the  termination  of  the  neck  to  the 
shoulders,  takes  upon  the  edge  that  turns  a fleshtint  some. 


220 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


what  more  golden,  that  is  to  say,  having  a little  more  or  a 
little  less  of  a yellow-reddish  cast,  owing  to  the  thick  and 
strong  muscle  that  forms  and  swells  the  part.  The  thick- 
ness of  the  skin  in  such  places  almost  always  communi- 
cates a slight  tinge  of  the  sort ; though  it  must  be  observed 
that  variations  from  this  general  rule  are  not  uncommon. 
There  are  many  women  who  have  the  muscles  of  the  neck 
less  white  than  the  local  tint  of  the  face  ; others  again 
with  whom  it  is  just  the  reverse  : so  that  there  is  no  abso 
lute  rule  in  this  respect,  except  it  be  that  which  is  the 
surest  of  all,  which  is  to  paint  what  you  see,  avoiding  ex- 
aggeration, and  preferring  to  make  all  the  tints  rather  too 
fresh  than  too  ruddy. 

In  meagre  persons  the  principal  muscle  on  either  side 
of  the  neck,*  and  the  bones  from  which  it  has  its  double 
origin,!  conspicuous  ; and  as  the  least  motion  of 

these  parts  makes  them  in  such  persons  very  prominent  in 
the  eye  of  the  painter,  he  is  apt  to  be  too  faithful  in  their 
delineation.  The  ancient  sculptors,  the  soul  of  whose  art 
was  beauty,  knew  well  how  to  avoid  such  dryness  of  de- 
tail ; and,  with  due  observation  to  the  resemblance,  if  it 
be  a portrait  that  you  paint,  you  may  follow  their  great 


* The  mastoid  by  v>  hich  the  head  turns  to  either  side,  or  bends 
forward.  It  has  two  origins,  one  from  the  top  of  the  sternum  or 
breastbone,  the  other  from  the  upper  and  anterior  part  of  the 
clavicle  or  collarbone,  which  very  soon  unite  into  one  muscle  which 
runs  obliquely  upwards  to  be  inserted  on  the  back  part  of  the  skull, 
c;  iefly  at  the  mastoid  or  nipple-shaped  process  of  the  temporal  or 
temple  bone.  Hence  (by  a substitution  of  the  Greek  synonym  for 
clavicle)  its  compound  name  with  anatomists  ; sterno-cleido-mas- 
toideus.  There  is  perhaps  no  muscle  of  the  body  whose  play  is  so 
constanlly  visible. 

t The  clavicle  and  top  cf  the  sternum  just  mentioned.  In  gene- 
ral the  clavicle  is  alone  prominent. 


NECK,  SHOULDERS,  AND  BREAST.  221 

guidance  here  as  elsewhere.  It  will  not  be  your  model 
that  will  blame  you  for  softening  a little  in  parts  like  these 
Take  now  the  local  tints  of  your  purest  and  most  lumi- 
nous carnations,  in  order  to  paint  the  chest  and  bosom,  so 
as  to  make  their  prominence  from  the  neck  perceptible.  All 
the  broken  demitints  by  which  you  give  roundness  to  the 
breasts  and  mark  the  swell  of  the  chest,  should  be  exceed- 
ingly beautiful,  pure,  fresh,  and  of  insensible  gradation  ; 
that  is  to  say,  they  should  have  but  little  vigor,  and  melt 
imperceptibly  into  the  local  and  pure  colors  of  the  lights 
of  your  carnations.  Use  a full  pencil  of  firm  color,  paint- 
ing the  parts  with  freedom  and  softness,  avoiding,  as  we  have 
said  of  the  neck,  too  exact  an  anatomical  detail ; for  be 
assured  that  this  is  pedantry  as  well  as  bad  taste.  Yet  do 
not  when  avoiding  meagreness  fall  into  the  opposite  ex- 
treme, and  make  a Hebe  or  a Venus  of  every  woman 
without  respect  to  age,  character,  or  physical  organization. 
There  are  certain  points  that  may  be  altered  for  the  better 
without  impropriety  and  without  suspicion : a line  or  two 
more  between  the  breasts,  a greater  distance  of  these  parts 
from  the  pit  of  the  neck,  a little  more  or  a little  less  ro- 
tundity in  them  according  to  circumstances,  will  not  dimi- 
nish  anyway  the  likeness,  no  more  than  will  a trifling 
modification  of  the  general  tint.  Ten  to  one  nobody  will 
perceive  it ; or  if  they  do,  it  cannot  be  objected  you 
that  you  have  net  understood  your  art. 


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CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  ARMS  AND  HANDS. 

For  these,  as  for  all  other  naked  parts  that  belong  not  to 
the  head,  the  variety  of  tints  is  less,  though  their  volume 
is  greater  than  in  the  palette  for  the  face.  The  manage- 
ment is  much  the  same  ; it  demands  only  greater  boldness 
in  the  execution,  and  in  general  a somewhat  firmer  paste  of 
color,  but  not  in  excess.  The  local  color  of  the  arms  and 
hands  as  well  as  of  the  breast  should  be  in  harmony  with 
that  of  the  head  ; so  that  a brunette  should  not  have  those 
of  a fair  woman,  nor  a fair  woman  those  of  a brunette. 
This  seems  plain,  and  yet  it  is  an  error  that  may  be  fallen 
into  by  a beginner. 

And  here  too  the  caution  to  avoid  servility  in  imitation 
may  be  repeated,  although  it  scarcely  needs,  since  the 
practice  of  portraitpainters  in  these  particulars  of  the  arms 
and  hands,  the  latter  especially,  is  well  known  to  be  guided 
universally  by  the  principle  of  abstract  beauty  rather  than 
by  any  anxiety  to  produce  a particular  resemblance  ; too 
much  so,  sometimes,  since  propriety  is  apt  to  be  forgotten. 
Indeed  it  is  with  the  naked  hand  as  with  the  covered  foot, 
the  size  and  shape  are  regarded  without  the  least  reference 
to  the  proportions  of  the  party  owning  them ; and  the  por- 
traitpainter,  following  this  prejudice  of  society,  not  unfre- 
quently  lames  his  figure  by  hands  of  which  one  wonders, 
as  of  the  straws  in  amber,  “ how  the  devil  they  got  there 
while,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  the  part,  its  imperfect  exe- 


ARMS  AND  HANDS. 


223 


cution  makes  the  comparison  still  more  applicable,  the 
things  so  out  of  place  being  most  truly  neither  rich  nor  rare. 
But  we  are  verging  beyond  our  province  ; for  all  this  re- 
gards design  far  more  than  painting.  Still  it  is  ours  to  add, 
that  hardness  is  especially  to  be  avoided,  for  it  is  a likelier 
fault  to  be  committed  here  than  that  of  too  great  softness 
and  feebleness.  For  one  that  makes  his  fingers  too  flac- 
cid and  transparent,  looking  as  if  they  were  boneless  and 
without  blood,  ten  fall  into  the  error  of  a very  famous 
artist,  whose  portrait  of  a pope  was  so  conspicuous  in  this 
respect  as  to  call  forth  a facetious  observation,  that  his  Holi- 
ness needed  no  hell  to  summon  his  attendants  ; a mere  rap  on 
the  table  with  his  fingers  would  he  sufficient. 


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CHAPTER  VIII. 

OF  CERTAIN  DEFECTS  OF  THE  SKIN. 

The  exhortation  to  avoid  servility  of  detail  leads  us  by  a 
natural  connection  to  the  subject  of  those  petty  defects  and 
disfigurations,  which,  when  they  occur  in  the  human 
visage,  a vulgar-minded  painter  is  sure  to  give  in  all  their 
unsightliness,  planting  every  hair  in  place  upon  a mon- 
strous mole,  variegating  the  complexion  with  a network  of 
superficial  veins  both  red  and  purple,  deepening  the  furrow 
on  either  side  the  nose,  and  tracing  one  by  one  the  wrinkles 
that  diverge  and  meet  in  the  corner  of  the  eye  ; and  wo 
to  the  unhappy  model,  should  that  eye  have  a wart  upon 
the  lid,  or  that  nose  be  violet  and  amaranth ! down  they 
go  upon  the  canvas,  tint  and  tubercle  ; for  why  ? they 
elicit  the  applause  of  observers  whom  nicer  points  escape, 
and  they  are  found  more  easy  of  imitation,  for  something 
of  the  same  reason  that  makes  it  easier  to  seize  the  like- 
ness of  a woman  than  of  a child,  and  of  a man  than  either. 
You  will  see  such  things  in  every  exhibition-room  ; and 
the  fidelity  with  which  they  are  delineated,  and  the  delight 
they  give  to  the  majority,  who  are  happy,  always,  to  find 
something  they  can  praise  undersiandingly,  may  tempt  you, 
a beginner,  to  like  profanation  of  the  divinity  of  our  art. 
Rut  beware ! your  model  even,  while  submitting  with. out- 
ward patience  to  the  congratulations  of  friends,  congratu- 
lations that  are  an  absolute  sarcasm  on  his  own  ugliness, 


DEFECTS  OF  SKIN. 


225 


will  not  in  his  heart  be  satisfied  ; and  the  remark  so  often 
heard  on  such  occasions  : It  is  very  like  ! but  I donH  think 
that  he  has  Jlattered  you,  sounds  in  his  ears,  and  justly,  the 
condemnation  of  the  artist  who  did  not  do  what  he  ex- 
pected,— copy  and  improve  him.  We  shall  examine  this 
expectation  in  the  next  chapter,  where  we  mean  to  treat, 
as  far  as  the  nature  of  our  volume  will  permit  us,  the 
cognate  subject  of  Fidelity  of  Resemblance.  Suffice  it  here, 
that  if  there  be  defects  wffiich  cannot  be  omitted,  you  are 
to  slur  them,  so  to  speak  ; mollify  them  ; let  them  be  there, 
but  in  their  proper  insignificance,  or  more  ; for,  in  such 
cases,  7iot  to  extenuate  is  actually  to  set  down  in  malice. 

In  the  matter  of  wrinkles  in  an  elderly  person,  you  will 
bear  in  mind,  not  only  that  by  the  very  nature  of  your  oc- 
cupation you  are  more  awake  to  these  accidents  of  time 
than  all  other  persons,  and  by  this  alone  are  led  to  magnify 
such  blemishes,  but  that  you  are  painting  by  a confined 
and  almost  perpendicular  light,  that  therefore  these  corru- 
gations  of  the  skin  appear  more  prominent  and  with  a 
darker  shadow  than  they  do  in  the  ordinary  daylight  of  a 
parlor  or  in  the  open  air.  Hence  it  belongs  even  to  the 
truth  of  the  representation,  to  soften  this  disfigurement  as 
it  appears  to  you.  In  order  to  this,  it  is  well  recom- 
mended by  Bouvier  that  you  begin  a wrinkle  by  the  lighter 
part,  as,  when  this  is  laid,  you  will  be  less  likely  to  exag- 
gerate tlie  force  of  the  shadow  than  if  you  were  to  reverse 
the  practice.  Farther  than  this,  do  not  cenmi  the  wrinkles ; 
that  is,  paint  only  the  more  conspicuous  ones,  which  will 
be  suflicient  for  the  character  of  the  face. 


11* 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

OF  FIDELITY  OF  RESEMBLANCE. 

The  talent  for  resemblance  is  almost  independent  of  ac- 
quired talents  ; one  must  be  organized  for  this,  as  to  become 
a singer  one  must,  first  of  all,  have  a good  ear.  There 
are  great  painters  who  have  no  talent  for  portraiture.”  So 
far,  Bouvier.  And  we  may  add,  that  the  class  however  is 
far  more  numerous  of  those  who  can  take  a likeness,  than 
of  those  who  can  paint  a really  good  or  even  tolerable 
picture. 

The  reason  of  this  is  evident.  There  are  always  certain 
traits  of  feature,  even  in  the  least  marked  countenances, 
that  are  readily  seized ‘by  a moderately  observant  eye,  and 
which,  when  delineated,  have  the  advantage  of  being  uni- 
versally recognized.  These  when  stiffly  set  down  form 
what  are  called  staring  likenesses.  The  man  or  rather  the 
animal  is  there,  the  outward  crust,  but  the  immortal  part, 
the  interior  existence  is  no  where  represented  ; or,  if  it 
sparkle  from  the  eyes,  or  hover  round  the  lips,  it  is  not  in 
an  agreeable  or  even  satisfactory  manner : this  apart  from 
any  merit  or  demerit  of  that  important  element  of  a truly 
correct  portrait,  as  of  every  good  painting,  the  coloring. 

Now,"^  it  may  be  asked.  How  is  this  expression, — which 
we  are  ready  to  admit  is  the  life  of  the  resemhlance, — how  is 

* We  would  observe,  that  if  we  confine  our  observations  in  this 
as  in  the  last  Part  to  portraitpainting,  it  is  because  the  artist,  whc 
aHi)ires  to  history,  usually  lays  himself  out  at  first,  and  always  after- 
wards continues  more  or  less,  to  practise  portraiture  ; and,  in  de 


FIDELITY  OF  RESEMBLANCE. 


227 


it  to  he  marked  ? To  this  no  answer  can  be  given,  other 
than  the  universal  rule  for  the  entire  art : observe,  compare, 
rejltct : we  might  say,  practice  will  do  all  the  rest,  but  that 
practice  is  a part  of  these,  or  they  are  parts  of  it ; — the 
liahit  of  the  art  then,  will  make  this  quite  as  easy  as  the  rest, 
provided  there  be  the  necessary  disposition  for  it,  which  is 
an  absolute  gift  of  nature.  There  are,  however,  certain 
preparations  for  the  work  that  may  well  be  taught  as  doc- 
trine. These  we  hold  to  be  as  follows : — 

In  the  first  place,  every  individual  has  some  one  aspect 
more  favorable  than  another,  and  which  is  called  forth  by  the 
state  of  the  mind,  as  being  in  repose  or  in  excitement. 
Now,  it  should  not  be  very  difficult  for  an  artist  to  ascer- 
tain this,  in  some  way  or  other,  previously  to  his  work.* 
If  the  party  appear  best  when  animated,  as  is  almiost  always 

scribing  the  method  of  proceeding  in  this  branch  of  the  art,  we  set 
the  student  fairly  on  his  way,  and  lead  him  therein  as  far  as  we 
can  go  without  treating  of  composition  and  the  theory  of  clairob- 
scure.  In  teaching  the  student  howto  color  a single  figure  (for  the 
composition  of  a palette  for  the  lower  part  is  taught  in  prescribing 
that  for  the  upper,  and  he  who  can  manage  an  arm  and  hand  neieds 
but  a more  complete  knowledge  of  anatomy  to  color  properly  the 
limbs  and  feet),  in  showing  this,  we  put  it  into  his  power  to  teach 
himself  the  proper  management  of  a group, — capitis  unius  ad  in- 
star, as  Dufresnoy  has  it,  Totum  opus,  ex  multis  quamquam  sit 
partibus.  Other  books  and  continued  study  (which  includes  prac- 
tice), and  the  facility  of  obtaining  models  are  all  that  is  needed  to 
build  the  superstructure  he  may  desire  on  the  basis  we  have  laid. 
In  this  respect  we  have  gone  as  far  as  our  chief  guide,  the  admira- 
ble manual  of  Bouvier  ; and  we  shall  follow  it  into  that  other  branch 
of  the  art  which  divides  with  head-painting  the  labors  of  the  stu- 
dent-artist and  mere  amateur,  to  wit,  the  practice  of  landscape- 
painting. Now  this  is  as  far  as  any  practical  book  on  Oilpainting 
pretends  to  go ; none,  that  we  know  of,  so  completely  tracing  out 
the  whole  route  as  the  one  we  have  just  mentioned. 

* Our  selfdenial  costs  us  more  in  this  place  than  in  any  other 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


the  case,  it  is  for  the  painter  to  open  a conveisation  with 
him  that  shall  pleasantly  excite  his  faculties,  in  a word  to 
mount  him  on  his  hobby  (a  remark  which  applies,  though 
in  a less  degree,  to  the  sidesaddle,  as  well  as  to  masculine 
equitation).  Then  study  the  play  of  the  features,  and  bear 
in  mind  what  is  most  agreeable  and  striking,  that  it  may 
be  recalled  afterwards  when  no  longer  apparent,  or  be 
strengthened  by  accidental  renewal.  It  may  be  said,  all 
this  is  difficult ; but  what  is  not  so,  in  the  art, — as  really 
an  art  and  not  a mechanical  employment  ? and  we  aim  to 
help  the  student  to  become  an  artist,  not  a dauber.  All 
the  great  portraitpainters  have  practised  this  mode,  of  con- 
versation with  their  models,  and  by  practice  they  attained 
to  such  facility  that  to  paint  and  talk  was  but  one  act,  just 
as  you  may  at  any  time  see  a good  performer  on  the  piano- 
forte play  the  most  difficult  pieces  (if  familiar  with  them) 
and  at  the  same  time  entertain  with  great  volubility  of 
discourse  two  or  three  friends  on  either  side  of  her.  It  is 
all  habit.  But  as  a natural  vivacity  is  needed  for  the 
happily  enacting  of  such  a part,  the  artist  if  he  want  it 
should  have  some  pleasant  and  loved  friend  of  the  model 
present,  who,  sitting  behind  the  painter, — not  between  them ; 
for  this  would  make  the  model  turn  aside, — keeps  up  the 
animation  of  the  parly,  whose  eyes  alone  being  a little  di- 
verted from  the  artist  are  easily  called  back  to  him  by  a 
word.  When  the  other  parts  of  the  head  or  bust  that  do 
not  take  expression  in  themselves,  however  they  enforce  it 
in  the  features  of  the  face,  come  in  turn  to  be  delineated, 
the  mere  reading  of  a book  will  answer  to  keep  the  sitter 
from  varying. 

part  of  the  volume  ; for  this  is  trenching  on  the  philosophy  of  the 
art ; a noKe  and  varied  theme,  and  lovelily  seductive  ! Perhaps  a 
da"  maj  cc  ne  . . . , . 


FIDELITY  OF  RESEIMBLANCE. 


229 


All  this  time,  we  have  supposed  the  picture  taken  in  the 
usual  vc^ay,  with  the  eyes  upon  the  painter.  In  the  other 
more  picturesque  mode,  the  conversation  with  the  model 
will,  of  course,  be  conducted  altogether  by  a third  party  ; 
or,  when  less  animation  is  required,  the  resource  of  read- 
ing comes  equally  into  play.  It  is  only  in  rare  cases,  for 
very  sufficient  reasons,  that  the  sitter  is  all  sufficient  for 
himself.* 

Finally,  is  it  necessary,  after  the  hints  and  instructions 
we  have  given  in  previous  chapters,  to  warn  the  young 
painter  not  to  be  led  astray  by  the  modest  disclaimer  of 
vanity  so  constantly  put  forward  by  all  that  sit  for  their 
portraits  ? They  will  bid  you  paint  them  as  they  are  ; oh, 
just  as  you  see  them  f they  do  not  want  to  he  flattered.  What 
do  they  come  for  ? What  is  the  motive  that  prompts  to  the 
sitting  for  a portrait,  even  when  at  the  solicitation  of  affec- 
tion ? Besides,  does  not  every  person,  man  and  woman, 
think  better  of  himself  than  others  see  him  ? Let  him 
think  so  still ; let  not  your  pencil  undeceive  him ; it  is 
your  art ; and  be  assured,  when  all  is  done  to  flatter  him 
as  you  wish,  you  can  never  show  him  to  half  the  advan- 
tage of  his  best  moments  in  actual  life. 

* We  had  partly  written  out  a chapter  on  the  subject  of  portraits 
with  the  look  averted,  showing  the  occasional  advantages  of  such 
a position,  and  at  the  same  time  the  danger,  from  the  air  of  affecta- 
tion and  study  which  it  is  so  apt  to  assume  ; also  upon  the  attitude 
of  a single  figure,  as  in  repose,  or  otherwise.  But  we  found  it  im- 
possible to  insert  it  without  falling  into  the  great  error  of  our  im- 
mediate guide  (an  error  but  too  common  in  works  upon  the  art), 
that  of  digressing  from  the  straight  methodical  arrangement  and 
division,  so  necessary  if  the  book  is  to  be  read  with  advantage 
The  whole  subject,  in  fact,  belongs  rather  to  Design  than  to  the  pe 
cullar  province  of  the  present  treatise. 


230 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


CflAPTER  X. 

recapitulation;  including  some  additional  obser/a 

TIONS  ON  THE  FINISHING. 

We  return  to  tlie  colorinf?,  in  order  to  repeat  and  extend 
certain  general  observations  that  arc  of  moment  to  flie 
student. 

In  repainting  a head,  avoid,  in  the  strong  and  deep 
shadows,  grayish  and  opaque  tints  ; keep  them  transparent 
and  of  rather  a warm  tone,  which  may  sometimes  be  even 
a little  lakey  or  sanguine,  according  to  the  carnation  to  be 
imitated.  Yet  be  careful  not  to  exaggerate  in  this  respect ; 
nor  yet  to  misplace  your  touches  : these  sanguine  and 
lakey  tones  are  confined  to  certain  parts,  such  as  the  inte- 
rior of  the  nostrils,  their  separating  cartilage,  the  ears, 
and  finally  some  other  parts  wherein  the  effect  which  calls 
for  such  a coloration,  though  less  sensible,  is  at  times  mani 
fest,  according  to  the  light  thrown  upon  the  model.  The 
modifications  resulting  from  reflexes  are  also  to  be  noted 
and  imitated. 

Be  very  sparing  of  demitints  that  have  a bluish,  green- 
ish, or  violaceous  cast.  Exaggeration  here  is  the  more  to 
be  feared,  that  all  the  tints  into  whose  composition  black, 
or  blue,  and  even  the  blue  of  ultramarine,  enter,  become 
always  more  sombre  ; so  that  the  tones  of  such,  which, 
when  distributed  with  art,  give  so  much  pulpy  softness, 
such  freshness,  and  delicacy  to  carnations,  render  the  same 
livid  and  cadaverous,  when  employed  without  due  man- 


RECAPITULATION,  ETC. 


231 


agement.  It  is  chiefly  for  this  reason  that  it  is  recom. 
mended  to  put  very  little  or  none  at  all  of  these  composi- 
tions into  the  deadcoloring. 

Observe  that  where  the  skin  is  stretched  upon  the  bones, 
as  in  the  forehead,  at  the  top  of  the  cheeks,  etc.,  the  lights, 
though  still  white  and  fresh,  take  a tint  that  has  somewhat 
more  of  a yellowish  cast  than  elsewhere. 

Do  not  pretend  to  spread  the  incarnate  of  the  cheeks 
too  uniformly  ; but  essay  to  imitate  those  little  inequalities 
of  roseate  hue,  sometimes  lively  enough,  which  give  so 
much  transparence  to  the  skin,  and  prevent  the  cheeks 
from  seeming  rouged. 

Study  too  with  attention  the  soft  faint  glitter  which  illu- 
minates the  highest  part  of  the  cheek,  upon  the  bone, 
when  a slight  smile  lifts  and  swells  the  part  a little. 

Never  detach  in  a hard,  dry,  and  cutting  manner  the 
contour  of  the  visage,  nor  of  any  rounded  and  flying  part ; 
but  melt  them,  with  softness  (without  however  losing  the 
form),  into  the  background,  neck,  or  such  other  part  as 
they  border  on.  Though,  this  is  not  all ; for  if  the  de- 
gradation which  we  have  inculcated  be  not  observed,  the 
outline  is  only  fouled  and  troubled,  or  rendered  vague, 
without  adding  rotundity  to  the  part. 

In  finishing  your  carnations,  avoid  entering  into  details 
that  are  minute  and  insignificant,  or  marldng  with  too 
much  precision  and  distinctness  those  that  should  be  ren- 
dered in  a broad  manner  and  without  dryness.  Let  not 
this  reiteration  of  a most  important  counsel  for  the  inexpe- 
rienced fall  like  a tedious  sermon  on  the  ear  of  our  young 
artist.  The  beginner  and  the  amateur  believe  that  such 
particularity  is  essential  to  correct  imitation,  and  see  ap- 
proach  to  perfection  in  the  facsimile  of  trifles.  Hear  what 
the  amiable  Bouvier  says,  of  this  mistake  : “For  some 


232 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


years  I shared  it,  I acknowledge  ; 1 am  now  undeceived, 
experience  having  convinced  me  that  all  my  efTorts  in  that 
way,  far  from  bringing  me  nearer  to  the  semblance  of  na- 
ture, served  only  to  remove  me  to  a greater  distance.’^ 
A.  confession  and  a true  deduction  to  which  we  fully  sub- 
scribe, for  our  own  humble  part.  Without  having  had 
anything  like  the  experience  of  that  venerable  artist,  nor 
making  the  least  pretension  to  a parity  of  judgment  with 
him  in  any  of  the  matters  of  which  we  treat,  we  cannot 
help  adding  the  small  weight  of  our  obscure  testimony  to 
the  solid  force  of  his  enlightened  evidence.  Yet,  while 
heaping  on  the  cumulative  opinion  of  all  authors  in  the 
art  the  little  grains  of  our  own  observation  and  experience, 
we  hesitate  not  to  advance  our  belief,  without  at  this  time 
and  in  this  place  pretending  to  show  the  grounds  on  which 
it  is  founded,  that  so  far  from  such  particularity  of  detail 
being  (at  least  in  a young  artist)  the  evidence  of  a little 
genius,  spending  its  weak  efforts  upon  trifles,  as  so  many 
writers  emptily  maintain,  it  is  on  the  contrary  the  minds 
most  gifted  for  the  art,  we  mean  those  who  to  close  obser- 
vation, and  comparison,  to  a delicate  yet  acute  and  power- 
ful sight,  and  a clear  and  strong  reflection,  unite  that  perse- 
verance without  which  there  is  really  no  genius,  and  still 
more  those  who  have  besides  these  qualifications  an  innate 
love  of  truth,  which  in  itself  prompts  to  strict  fidelity  of 
representation,  it  is  such,  and  not  the  mass  of  daubers  that 
stay  just  at  the  point  to  which  the  routine  of  the  schools  have 
brought  them,  it  is  really  such  that  at  their  outset  fall  into 
this  tempting  error ; and  it  is  only  their  own  experience 
that  proves  to  them  at  last  that  it  is  an  error.  Once  con- 
vinced, to  leave  its  narrow  track  and  expatiate  in  the 
la^'ger  field  of  true  art  is  the  essay  of  a moment.  And 
th<  ir  after  freer  efforts  are  perhaps  all  the  better  for  the 


RECAPITULATION,  ETC. 


238 


early  restraint  to  which  their  punctiliousness  had  subjected 
them. 

Had  we  space,  we  might  easily,  that  is  without  any  vain 
verbiage,  carry  this  disquisition  to  the  length  of  many  pages 
(as  what  point,  that  we  have  touched  on  in  our  mighty  art, 
could  we  not,  without  exhausting  it  ?)  and  show  that  this 
minuteness  of  delineation  which  requires  near  inspection 
to  be  appreciated,  however  unprofitable  and  apt  in  bad 
hands  to  degenerate  into  mere  frivolity,  may  be,  as  it  has 
been,  carried  to  an  extreme  little  short  of  that  of  micro- 
scopic Denner,*  without  in  the  least  detracting  from  the 
full  force  and  general  effect  of  the  painting  when  viewed, 
with  other  performances  of  greater  breadth,  at  the  usual 
distance.  But  we  leave  the  topic,  with  the  brief  maxim 
for  the  student,  that  his  business  is  to  represent  not  what  is^ 
hut  what  appears.  This  is  the  whole  pith  of  the  matter  ; 
and  if  we  add  that  life  is  too  precious  to  be  spent,  in  an  art 
so  “ longy’  on  needless  trifles,  and  that  these  trifles  by  too 
diligent  an  execution  are  apt  to  raise  themselves  into  im- 
portance and  thus  detract  from  the  effect  and  value  of 
parts  that  are  really  significant,  we  have  said  quite  enough 
to  turn  the  student  into  the  broader  and  better  path,  though 
at  the  same  time  we  are  morally  convinced  that  he  will 
never  take  it,  if  he  have  a strong  natural  bias  to  pursue 
the  other. 

Thus  much  delivered  on  the  over-care  of  matters  of  mi- 
nute detail,  we  may,  very  fitly  as  it  seems  to  us,  conclude 
our  chapter  of  general  advice  by  a maxim  applicable  to 
every  part  of  painting,  but  particularly  to  coloring.  It  is 

* Balthazar,  of  Hamburg,  in  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury (he  died  in  1747).  He  followed,  as  a master,  Rembrandt ; 
out  his  peculiarity  is  characterized  by  the  enithet  we  have  given 
him  above.  See  any  biographical  dictionary 


234  HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINT!N5. 

contained  in  a well-known  pithy  proverb,  whose  counsel  is 
for  all  the  conduct  of  daily  life  : let  well  alone  : a 
maxim,  perhaps,  which,  as  being  thus  too  universal  in  its 
application,  the  reader  will  more  respect  if  he  sees  it  in 
another  shape  confined  to  his  peculiar  art,  and  having  the 
venerable  sanction  of  him  who  we  are  really  inclined  to  think 
may  have  been  deserving  ot  the  glory  bestowed  on  him,  of 
being  iefore  all  other  'painters,  of  earlier  and  of  times  succeed- 
ing.^ It  was  Apelles  then,  who,  with  characteristic  gene- 
rosity allowing  to  Protogenes  an  equality  or  superiority  to 
himself  in  all  other  points,  denied  him  this : that  he  knew,  as 
he  did,  when  in  painting  to  leave  off  ; excess  of  painstaking 
being  often  the  ruin  of  a picture.  “ Et  aliam  gloriam 
usurpavit,  quum  Protogenis  opus  immensi  laboris  ac  cura 
supra  modum  anxice  miraretur.  Dixit  enim  omnia  sibi  cum 
illo  paria  esse,  aut  illi  meliora ; sed  uno  se  prsestare,  quod 
manum  ille  de  tabula  non  sciret  tollere  ; memorabili  prse- 
cepto,  Nocere  SjEpe  nimiam  diligentiam.”  (Plin.  Nat. 
Hist.,  XXXV. ; c.  36,  § 10  ; ed.  Berol.) — And  this  too,  to  cer- 
tain dispositions,  those  we  mean  that  are  prone  to  the  immen- 
sus  labor  ac  cura  supra  modum  anxia  of  Protogenes,  this  too, 
memorable  precept  though  it  is,  will  be,  we  verily  believe, 
a preaching  to  the  winds,  thinking  as  we  do  with  Machia- 
velli,  where,  speaking  of  the  headlong  pontiff,  Julius,  he 
says  (if  we  remember  right)  that  men  in  all  their  doings 
are  directed,  in  their  manner  of  doing,  by  the  impulse  of  their 
dispositions  : a truth,  at  all  events,  whether  he  says  the 
same  or  not.  Pass  we  on  to  the  eleventh  chapter. 

* “Verum  omnes  prius  genitos  futurosque  postea  superavit 
Apelles  Cous.”  The  praise  of  a writer  of  whose  gossip  it  may  be 
said,  as  has  been  of  Plutarch’s,  that  it  would  be  one  of  the  last  of 
ancient  books  we  would  consent  to  lose,  now  that  we  have  known 
its  value  and  its  entertainment,  viz.  of  the  author  of  the  anecdote 
given  in  the  text. 


WORK  OF  THE  SECOND-PAINTING  DISTRIBUTED.  235 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  WORK  OF  THE  SECOND-PAINTING  DISTRIBUTED. 

It  is  always  best  when  it  can  be  done,  especially  if  in 
summer,  to  finish  a head  in  one  day ; with  the  reserve,  if 
you  please,  of  the  eyes,  which  may  be  painted  the  next 
morning,  after  which,  while  the  couch  of  color  still  retains 
some  of  its  ductility,  those  final*  touches  may  be  given 
which  we  have  indicated  previously  in  treating  of  the 
sketch  (Chap,  ix..  Part  III,).  But  as  this  despatch  is  not 
always  at  the  command  of  a beginner,  and  moreover  the 
model  has  to  be  consulted,  he  should  take  care  so  to  dis- 
tribute his  work,  as  not  to  leave  off  in  the  midst  of  a part 
which  it  would  not  be  easy  to  resume,  or  to  complete  by 
itself  what  would  not  happily  unite  with  a contiguous  part 
subsequently  added  : thus,  the  neck  and  the  breast  should 
be  finished  in  the  same  day.  There  is  no  great  art  in 
this  ; it  requires  but  the  exercise  of  ordinary  judgment. 
However,  if  the  student  prefer  to  have  a way  marked  oul 
for  him,  as  was  done  in  the  First-Painting,  he  can  take  the 

* This  does  not  mean  those  after-touches  which  are  properly 
corrections,  made  after  the  picture  is  dry,  and  which  may  be  given 
again  and  again  until  the  painter  is  satisfied.  These  are  done  by 
preparing  the  place  to  be  retouched  in  the  manner  already  spoken 
of  (Chap,  vi..  Part  IT,),  some  using  simple  oil,  others  particular 
preparations  (Chaps,  xii.,  and  xiii..  Part  I.).  Bouvier  recommends  the 
bleached  poppy-oil.  There  are  many  artists,  who,  for  obvious  rea- 
sons connected  with  the  process,  never  retouch  a painting,  d?priv« 
ing  themselves  of  the  resource  rather  than  encounter  its  risks. 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


‘23t) 


following,  adopted  with  some  difficulty  from  the  landrnarKs 
of  the  same  sure  guide. 

First  day.  The  forehead,  and  its  surrounding  parts,  such 
as  the  roots  of  the  hair,  and  the  little  tresses  or  tendrils  of 
locks  that  escape  upon  the  forehead.  You  include  the  root 
of  the  nose,  and  the  blending  at  the  upper  edge  of  the  eye- 
brow ; and  you  finish  at  the  temples  ; leaving  the  color 
thin  where  you  are  to  resume  the  work,  and  adding  there- 
to a very  little  oil  to  keep  the  place  of  intended  junction 
sufficiently  fresh. 

Second  day.  The  setting  (as  Bouvier  calls  it)  of  both  the 
eyes  ; which  supposes,  of  course,  that  you  leave  the  pupil  and 
ball  for  another  time,  while  you  paint  all  between  the  brow 
and  the  lid,  on  both  sides.  Then  the  whole  lighted  side 
of  the  face  down  to  the  place  of  the  neck,  where  a shadow 
or  at  least  a demitint  gives  you  a natural  limit.  The  mouth 
and  chin  and  their  connected  parts  are  included  in  this, 
with  their  demitints  and  shadows,  and  also  the  entire  nose, 
both  light  and  shadow. — The  caution  with  regard  to  keep- 
ing the  edges  thin,  where  you  are  to  resume  the  work,  ob- 
tains, we  need  not  say,  here  as  elsewhere. 

Third  day.  First  of  all  you  give  the  sharp  touches  of 
light,  and  the  vigorous  shadows.  Then  you  paint  the  ear 
or  ears,  the  great  part  not  yet  touched  of  the  shaded  cheek, 
and  lastly  you  complete  the  eyes. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  colors  drying  as  you 
proceed,  the  tone  is  no  longer  at  the  pitch  you  set  it ; so 
that  in  this  gradual  work  you  may  be  embarrassed  to  keep 
up  the  absolute  harmony  of  the  entire  piece.  It  is  one  of 
those  inconveniences,  like  the  replenishing  of  a palette; 
which  your  own  observation  will  direct  you  to  counter 
balance  or  compensate. 


WORK  OF  THE  SECOND-PAINTING  DISTRIBUTED.  237 


In  adding  the  oil  to  the  edge  of  the  color  you  leave  for 
the  day,  you  are  to  be  cautious  not  to  use  more  than  you 
require  for  the  occasion.  You  apply  it  with  a firm  yet 
soft  brush  ; and  afterwards  you  use  your  finger  to  spread 
it,  so  that  the  place  shall  be  just  greased  with  it  and  no 
more.  In  colors,  pure  or  combine  that  do  not  dry  readily, 
there  is,  of  course,  no  need  of  th  operation ; and  on  cer- 
tain occasions,  as  in  the  lights  o''  certain  delicate  stuffs, 
as  well  as  of  white  linens,  it  is  U Jx  / voided  in  any  case. 
There  is  likewise  no  necessity  fo'  ' here  drying-oil  haa 
been  used  with  the  color. 


238 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  artist’s  mirror. 

It  may  seem  that  this  should  have  been  included  in  one 
of  the  early  divisions  of  our  book,  and  stood  up  insignifi- 
cant in  the  array  of  straddling  easels,  taper  rest-sticks,  and 
all  the  other  furniture  of  the  painter’s  workshop.  But  it 
is  not  the  implement  itself  we  have  to  describe ; for  it  is 
but  the  familiar  assistant  of  the  toilet  and  the  embellish- 
ment of  the  drawingroom  that  we  now  reckon  among  the 
aids,  and  even  the  potent  aids,  of  our  art ; but  its  uses.* 

To  the  artist  then  the  mirror  is  his  best  counsellor : we 
will  make  no  one  exception.  It  is  before  this  silent  con- 
noisseur that  he  extends  the  darling  of  his  genius,  and  the 
handiwork  of  his  industry,  and  asks  with  the  certainty  of 
an  honest  answer  (if  the  mirror  be  not  a false  one),  if  his 
design  be  correct,  if  his  chiaroscuro  shadow  his  intent, — 
we  had  almost  added,  if  the  general  effect  of  his  coloring 
be  meritorious ; but  this  is  not  its  function. 

In  plainer  terms,  at  every  step  of  your  progress  look  at 
the  image  of  your  work  in  a good  mirror  : here  it  is 
changed  about  in  posture,  the  left  side  made  the  rig'it,  and 
the  right  the  left,  and  no  error  escapes  it.  Sometimes  you 
will  see,  that  what  upon  your  canvas  appeared  of  true  di- 
mensions, was  in  reality  too  large,  what  seemed  of  graceful 

* We  consider  this  topic  to  be  the  sole  one,  of  a practical  nature, 
that  has  been  pretermitted  by  Bouvier.  Singular  too,  in  a wcrk  S3 
thorough  ! 


THE  MIRROR. 


239 


contour  was  distorted  ; here  an  eye,  that  from  the  easel 
looked  at  you  quite  straight,  now  mocks  you  from  the  glass 
with  manifest  obliquity  ; there  a chest,  whose  fancied  nar- 
rowness and  flatness  made  you  pale  with  thoughts  of  phthisis, 
looms  out  with  the  ridiculous  inflation  of  a turkeycock’s  or 
pigeon’s  ; and  so  on  and  so  on,  from  head  to  heel  of  the 
human  form  divine.  You  will  be  startled  ; you  will  doubt 
the  lookingglass.  Doubt  it  not ; your  work  is  false.  If 
you  would  be  convinced,  show  it  if  you  will  to  some  disin- 
terested person  (but  alas,  that  is  so  hard  to  find !)  who,  ex- 
tenuating nothing  and  nothing  setting  down  in  malice,  and 
gifted  with  an  eye  that  is  capable  of  measuring  proportions, 
will  pronounce  truly  and  with  understanding.  He  will 
confirm  the  judgment  of  the  impartial  mirror.  By  and  by, 
you  will  put  such  reliance  on  its  never  capricious  counsel, 
that  you  will  follow  its  corrections  without  once  demurring  ; 
and,,  when  your  work  is  altered,  the  result  will  satisfy  you 
invariably,  that,  as  the  proverb  says  of  “ two  heads,”  so 
two  images  “ are  better  than  one.” 

When  you  have  come  to  this  conclusion,  there  is  not  a 
beauty  of  eighteen  that  shall  hold  in  higher  veneration  ana 
be  more  grateful  to  her  grandest  Psyche,  than  will  you  to 
yours,  nor  seek  its  uncontaminate  reflections  (though,  it  is 
true,  for  a somewhat  lighter  purpose)  more  eagerly,  more 
devoutly,  more  frequently,  or,  finally,  we  hope,  with  more 
triumphant  satisfaction. 

**  Segnius  irritant  animos  demissa  per  aurem, 

Quam  quse  sunt  oculis  subjecta  fidelibus,  et  qua 
.Ipse  sibi  tradit  spectator 


PART  V. 

CF  THE  PAINTING  OF  DRAPERIES, 
AND  THEIR  MANAGEMENT  IN  GENERAL* 


12 


'I 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


PART  THE  FIFTH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  EXPRESSION  OP  THE 
MATERIAL  OF  DRAPERIES. 

It  is  seldom  that  variegated  or  figured  stuffs  are  in  good 
taste  in  painting,  though  there  are  occasions  when  they 
may  become  of  significant  propriety. 

In  the  case  of  embroideries,  those  parts  of  the  figures 
that  catch  the  light,  being  in  relief  on  certain  of  the  great 
folds,  are  alone  to  be  detailed  with  any  precision.  They 
should  not  be  painted  with  too  great  a thickness  of  color, 
which  would  give  a disagreeable  heaviness  to  the  stuff. 
Supposing  them  to  be  white,  the  tint  must  be  varied,  so 
that  only  the  most  brilliant  parts  shall  receive  it  unbroken. 
As  for  the  embroidery  that  is  discerned  in  the  retiring 
parts,  or  those  that  turn  off,  it  is  essential  that  it  be  indi- 
cated merely  with  grayish  whites  ; and  far  from  essaying 
to  express  the  figures  with  neatness,  they  should  on  the  con- 
trary be  rendered  in  a vague  and  interrupted  manner,  as 
they  appear  to  us  at  first  sight,  and  not  on  close  attention. 
So  in  the  case  of  shawls,  those  palmleaves,  borders  and  va- 
riegated flowers  of  a thousand  dies,  are  to  be  painted  in 


244 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


a vague,  undecided,  and  tender  manner,  which  will  far 
better  express  the  nature  of  the  stuff  than  any  dryness  of 
detail. 

It  is  useless  to  extend  these  general  remarks ; the  pupil’s 
eyes,  and  a very  moderate  degree  of  judgment,  certainly 
a very  little  experience,  will  soon  show  him  the  true  mean 
between  slovenliness  on  one  part  and  petty  preciseness  on 
the  other. 


245 


ADAPTATION  OF  COLOR,  IN  DRAPERIES. 


CHAPTER  II. 

GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  ADAPTATION  OF  THE 
COLOR. 

Broken  colors,  such  as  fallow-red,  philomot,  certain  foul 
greens  or  undecided  browns,  are  not  becoming  to  young 
persons.  There  are  a multitude  of  grays  which  are  not 
more  suitable.  They  should  be  reserved  for  persons  of 
mature  or  advanced  age.  The  gray  which  has  a lilac  cast 
is  the  only  one  that  is  proper  for  a young  person,  and  even 
this  is  not  becoming,  except  to  fair  women,  or  very  fresh 
and  light  brunettes. 

Golden  yellow  and  red  are  not  very  advantageous  to  the 
former : black  and  violet  become  them  well,  as  likewise 
dark  green.  Rose-color  is  not  unfavorable  to  them,  if 
they  be  not  too  pale ; but  it  sets  off  to  still  more  advantage 
brown  women,  when  they  are  plump  and  fresh.  White 
answers  for  all  carnations ; but  dead- white,  like  that  of 
dimity,  is  not  adapted  for  too  dark  a skin : for  such,  light, 
transparent  stuffs,  of  a less  glaring  white,  like  crape, 
gauzes  and  muslins,  are  more  suitable. 

We  have  said  above,  that  broken  colors  are  not  becoming 
jb  the  young : neither  are  they  to  a complexion  that  is 
grayish,  earthy  and  monotonous.  To  give  to  such  a fresher 
aspect,  the  color  should  be  dark,  yet  not  hard  nor  heavy  ; 
for  example,  black,  mingled  with  some  portions  of  white, 
the  color  of  a pink  or  carnation  (flower),  deep  violet-blue, 
etc. ; but  nothing  of  a broken  red  or  of  a grayish  tint,  and 


246 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


still  less,  lively,  tender,  or  resplendent  colors,  with  the  ex 
ception  perhaps  of  deep  crimson,  which  relieves  a little 
the  dull  uniformity  of  such  a skin.  In  general,  all  these 
colors  should  be  intermingled  with  white  linens. 

The  above  general  directions,  which  coincide  with  those 
of  Depiles,  and  other  writers  before  the  time  of  Bouvier, 
are  given  by  the  latter  chiefly  for  the  occasions  of  portrait- 
painting, while  the  student  is  referred  to  Lairesse  and 
similar  guides  for  the  choice  of  colors  in  draperies  required 
for  pieces  of  invention.  We  may  add,  that  in  any  case 
they  are  of  value  to  the  young  artist ; but  that  for  his  por- 
traits, he  will  often  find  such  knowledge  of  no  avail ; for 
though,  in  their  ordinary  dress,  women  will  be  found  in 
general  to  adopt  precisely  such  a choice  as  is  here  indi- 
cated, their  sole  guides  the  mirror,  and  that  natural  percep- 
tion of  what  is  outwardly  becoming,  with  which  they  are 
for  the  most  part  well  endowed,  yet  when  they  come  to  sit 
to  the  painter  all  this  is  forgotten,  and  it  is  generally  by 
some  arbitrary  rule,  or  some  novel  caprice,  founded  upon 
what  has  pleased  them  in  the  portraits  of  others,  however 
physically  unlike  themselves,  that  their  selection  is  guided  ^ 
and  such  is  the  vigor  in  them  of  another  natural  endow- 
rnent,  their  obstinacy  (be  it  said  with  pardon),  or  self-will, 
that  it  is  rare  indeed  that  an  artist  can  persuade  them  to 
substitute  his  judgment  for  their  own  ; and  even  the  at- 
tempt may  at  times  be  perilous,  when  each  feels  herself  aa 
Juno, 

. . . SKStSti  napra  letpi  j^po’C  dgjcaro  Koopopy 

on  the  memorable  occasion  of  her  most  rechercMe  toilet. 


CAST  OF  DRAFERIfiS. 


241 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF  THE  CAST,  OR  ADJUSTMENT  OF  DRAPER::ES. 

Of  an  art  which  does  or  should  obey>  the  guidance  of  good 
taste  throughout,  there  is  no  part,  not  even  the  attitudes, 
that  gives  more  room  for  its  display  than  this  ; for  it  is  not 
every  fold  that  is  presented  by  what  may  be  called  the 
natural  adjustment  of  a drapery,  that  is  eligible.  This,  it 
is  believed,  is  well  understood. — But  are  there  then  no 
rules  that  may  assist  the  discernment  and  direct  the  choice 
of  the  artist  ? Certainly ; and  these  are  of  the  best  kind ; 
being  not  mechanical,  but  founded  on  certain  principles, 
which  properly  to  understand  is  in  itself  to.  make  some 
steps  forward  in  the  knowledge  of  the  art. 

First,  however,  as  the  use  of  the  mannekin  or  lay-figure 
is  connected  with  this  subject,  we  refer  the  student  back 
to  its  brief  description  (Chap,  xxii..  Part  I.),  that  he  may 
bear  in  mind  the  important  direction  there  given,  not  to 
trust  to  this  contrivance  solely,  however  ingenious,  but  to 
make  it  merely  secondary  in  his  operations.  Its  proper 
use  should  be  considered  this,  that  as  it  is  impossible  in 
many  cases  to  have  the  living  model  maintain  a set  posture 
long  enough  for  the  artist  to  paint  as  well  as  draw  from  it, 
sometimes  not  even  the  latter,  he  sketches  on  paper,  more 
or  less  in  detail  as  may  be,  the  adjustment  that  contents  him, 
and,  with  the  sketch  to  serve  F m as  a guide,  he  imitates  as 
well  as  he  can  the  same  ar/  ngement  with  the  doll.  In 
this  process  he  is  to  act  lib/  ally,  and  not  to  think  himself 


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tied  down  to  the  exact  copy  of  every  detail ; for,  besidet 
that  this  might  be  impossible,  such  is  the  infinite  variety 
of  folds  into  which  a drapery  disposes  itself,  particularly 
in  certain  stuffs,  that  he  is  as  likely  to  gain  as  lose  by  an 
accidental  deviation  from  the  design,  not  to  say  that  such 
a deviation  is  of  no  consequence  as  long  as  the  general 
mass  of  folds  remains  the  same,  and  its  consequent  effect 
in  the  general  mass  of  lights  and  shadows.* 

In  order  that  a drapery,  of  whatever  sort,  should  present 
an  agreeable  appearance,  it  should  be  so  arranged  as  not 
to  conceal,  while  covering,  the  forms  of  the  model.  That 
is  to  say,  the  salient  parts  of  the  body  and  limbs,  which 
always  more  or  less  appear  through  the  drapery  according 
to  the  posture,  should  be  evident  in  their  true  forms  ; not 
however  as  in  statuary,  where  the  clothing  usually  hugs 
the  limbs,  like  the  wet  linen  it  is  modelled  after,  but  so 
far  as  the  stuff*,  nobly  disposed,  with  grace,  or  majesty,  or 
simple  dignity,  according  to  the  character  of  the  wearer, 
but  always  without  aff*ectation,  admits. 

Avoid,  as  much  as  you  can,  folds  that  are  parallel  and 
too  similar.  In  a figure  standing,  they  will  however  be 
more  or  less  so,  always.  In  thick  stuffs,  the  folds  form 
large  masses  and  are  few  in  number : this  is  desirable  ; 
do  not  seek  artfully  to  multiply  them.  In  draperies  that 
are  thin  and  supple,  the  folds  are  necessarily  more  nume- 
rous, and  smaller : manage  however  to  have  some  large 
general  masses  present  themselves  distinct  from  the  petty 
folds,  both  to  avoid  monotony  and  for  the  eff*ect  of  acci- 

* Considering  the  cost  of  even  an  ordinary  mannekin,  it  may  be 
as  well  to  remind  the  young  artist,  that  its  use  may  generally  be 
dispensed  with  if  he  have  only  the  ordinary  bust-portrait  to  paint; 
and  we  do  not  know  but  that  it  is  rather  better  that  it  should  be, 
in  such  a case,  on  more  accounts  than  one. 


CAST  OF  DRAPERIES. 


249 


dental  shadows.  The  little  folds  are  most  abundant  where 
the  stuff  is  gathered  in  and  constrained,  as  at  the  girdle  for 
example  ; but  in  contrast  to  them,  the  eye  should  be  ena- 
bled to  repose  upon  greater  parts  that  are  smooth,  or  at 
least  large  and  more  uniform. 

A deep  fold  sliould  never  cut  a salient  part.  If  it  should 
happen  that  the  model  should  present  this  awkward  acci- 
dent, it  must  be  corrected,  for  the  simple  reason  that  it 
produces  disfiguration,  making  a division  where  nature 
offers  continuity. 

For  the  rest,  see  how  the  great  masters  that  are  conspi 
cuous  for  the  noble  cast  of  their  draperies,  for  example 
Raphael,  have  managed  to  obtain  variety  without  affecta- 
tion, and  to  give  grandeur  to  their  figures  without  cumber- 
ing them  with  a mass  of  clothing,  that  is  yet  too  common 
in  the  art.  This  study  is  put  into  your  power  even  here,  by 
means  of  engravings ; but  it  needs  the  guidance  of  good 
taste,  and  unsophisticated  judgment : 

“ More  I could  tell,— but  more  I dare  not  say ; 

The  text  is  old, — the  orator  too  green.”* 

But,  finally,  if  the  young  artist  will  weigh  the  term  that 
is  usually  applied  in  speaking  of  this  matter,  viz.  to  cast 
a drapery,  it  will  further  suggest  to  him  what  is  expected 
in  this  particular  of  his  art ; a particular,  however,  which 
he  is  not  to  elevate  beyond  its  due  importance ; for  a dra- 
pery is  after  all  but  an  accessory,  the  envelopment  or  or- 
nament of  the  human  figure,  not  the  figure  itself. 

* Shaksp.  Venus  and  Adonis. 


12* 


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CHAPTER  IV. 

IN  WHAT  MANNER  THE  MATERIAL  OF  A DRAPERY  IS  CHAR- 
ACTERIZED ; AND  FIRST,  WHERE  OF  CLOSE  TEXTURE. 

The  imitation  of  different  stuffs  depends  chiefly  upon  the 
character  of  the  folds,  and  in  the  next  place  upon  the  ap- 
pearance they  present  as  rough  or  smooth,  dull  or  brilliant, 
as  is  evident  by  their  ready  representation  by  means  of 
simple  crayons  or  the  strokes  of  the  graver.  Even  their 
texture,  as  coarse  or  fine,  is  denoted  in  the  same  manner ; 
so  that  color  acts  but  little  or  no  part  in  their  indication. 
This  is  as  a general  rule  ; for  in  the  case  of  satins,  vel- 
vets, and  some  other  stuffs  of  silk,  we  perceive  that  the  con- 
figuration of  the  folds,  though  important,  does  not  hold  the 
principal  place.  Thus  satin,  with  its  large  and  sufficiently 
remarkable  folds,  is  distinguished  still  more  by  its  singular 
brilliancy  and  the  beauty  of  its  reflections  ; and  the  lighter 
stuffs  of  silk  that  are  lustrous,  and  whose  smaller  folds 
differ  not  only  from  those  of  satin,  but  from  those  of  each 
other  according  to  their  kind  (and  this  with  sometimes  a 
marked  peculiarity,  as  in  the  case  of  Florence  silk),  are 
likewise  distinguishable  by  their  splendor  and  power  of 
reflection,  each  in  its  own  degree  and  manner ; while  vel- 
vet again  and  plush  have  this  peculiarity,  that  in  the 
rounded  retreating  parts  of  the  folds,  where  other  stuffs 
would  have  demitints,  they  display  vivacity  and  light,  the 
salient  parts  being  almost  always  dull  and  somewhat  dark, 
though  not  in  the  degree  of  the  stronger  shadows  and  of 
the  deep  concavities. 


DRAPERIES  OF  CLOSE  TEXTURE. 


251 


But  all  these  characteristics  will  be  readily  visible  to 
the  artist,  when  he  has  the  stuffs  before  him  ; for  he  would 
hardly  attempt  their  representation  without.  We  need 
not,  therefore,  consume  further  space  upon  this  topic,  ex- 
cept to  add,  that  in  velvet  the  striking  yet  no  way  glaring 
contrast  of  the  broad  lights  with  the  dark  masses,  produces 
effects  the  more  rich  and  flattering  that  the  brilliant  parts 
are  fewer  and  of  less  extent  than  those  which  are  obscure  ; 
so  that  the  eye  feels  none  of  that  fatigue  or  satiety  that  is 
caused  by  gazing  on  materials  that  are  more  uniformly 
brilliant. 


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•HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


CHAPTER  V. 

IN  WHAT  MANNER  THE  STUFF  IS  CHARACTERIZED,  I7HEN 
LIGHT  AND  TRANSPARENT. 

Transparent  stuffs  have  this  difficulty  in  their  imitation, 
that  they  present  a complication  of  folds  in  all  directions, 
which  are  perceived  one  through  another,  without  being 
absolutely  confounded  nor  yet  perfectly  distinct.  The 
under  parts  must  be  first  established  in  a tender  and  vague 
manner,  without  paying  too  much  attention  for  the  moment 
to  the  superficial  folds  which  cover  them.  This  done,  there 
is  little  embarrassment 

In  general,  these  sorts  of  stuffs  are  painted  with  thin 
color,  which  helps  to  give  them  the  light  and  delicate  ap- 
pearance they  should  have.  They  are  usually  white ; 
but  when  colored,  the  best  mode  of  rendering  them,  if  they 
are  thrown  over  a white  under-dress,  is  to  paint  them  as 
if  they  were  white  ; then,  when  this  couch  is  dry,  to  spread 
over  the  whole  a light  glaze,  blue,  or  rose,  or  green,  as 
may  be,  observing  to  double  the  force  of  the  glaze,  ana 
even  to  triple  it,  where  the  folds  are  doubled  or  tripled  on 
one  another.  In  this  way,  you  are  master  of  your  work  ; 
you  add  or  diminish  the  intensity  of  the  color  of  the  glaze, 
without  the  risk  of  destroying  the  folds  and  forms  of  the 
under  painting,  and  at  the  same  time  you  sacrifice  with 
broken  grayish  tints  certain  parts  that  are  found  too  lively, 
or  by  a mixture  of  white  add  vivacity  to  others. 

When  however  it  is  a black  or  other  dark-colored  gauze 


LIGHT  AND  TRANSPARENT  DRAPERIES. 


25S 


that  is  cast  over  a drapery  of  light  hue,  it  must  be  painted 
at  once  of  the  proper  color  : it  would  be  absurd  to  prepare 
it  in  white.  All  you  have  to  do,  is,  when  the  under  couch 
is  dry,  to  trace  the  principal  folds  with  white  chalk  that 
you  may  see  your  way,  and  then  paint  it  in  glazing. 

For  the  rest,  all  these  transparent  draperies  should  be 
treated  lightly  and  with  a free  pencil,  without  caring  to  , 
render  a million  of  petty  accidents  of  detail,  which  far 
from  adding  to  the  better  effect  of  the  work  would  rather 
injure  it.  It  is  not  precisely  negligence  that  is  demanded, 
it  is  a spirited  manner  of  painting,  that  characterizes 
merely  what  deserves  to  be  characterized,  and  requires  a 
great  deal  of  taste  and  tact ; so  that  the  whole  together 
satisfies  the  view,  though  done  freely  and  at  little  cost. 

The  painting  of  draperies  in  general  we  will  now  pro 
ceed  to  describe,  by  means  of  a particular  example. 


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CHAPTER  VI. 

MODE  IN  GENERAL  OF  PAINTING  DRAPERIES,  EXEMPl-pIED 
IN  ONE  OF  DARK-BLUE  CLOTH.  THE  FIRST-PAINTING  OR 
SKETCH. 

With  the  best  Prussian  Blue*  mix  a third  of  intense  Lake : 
add  thereto  a twentieth  of  red  ochre,  and  about  as  much 
of  Vine-black  or  Prussian  Black.  You  will  mix  with  this 
combination  white,  for  the  two  brightest  tints  : the  brighter 
of  these  two,  to  heighten  the  principal  lights,  and  the  othei 
for  the  local  color.  The  proportion  of  white  depends  upon 
the  tone  of  the  stuff  you  have  to  copy. 

Of  the  first  mixture,  whereof  you  will  have  set  aside 
a part  before  adding  the  least  white,  you  make  two  other 
shades,  by  adding  black  ; one  of  these  will  be  much  darker 
than  the  other,  for  the  more  vigorous  parts  of  the  shadows. 

With  these  four  colors  (whose  quantity  is  regulated  by  the 
extent  of  surface  you  have  to  cover)  you  can  sketch  your 
whole  drapery.  They  will  not  indeed  be  varied  enough 
for  all  that  you  have  to  execute  ; but  out  of  them,  all  the 
intermediate  tints  and  shades  that  you  require  can  be 
made  with  your  pencil,  on  the  palette. 

• For  light  and  brilliant  tones,  such  especially  as  are  found  in 
silks,  the  only  blues  to  be  used,  where  blues  are  required,  are  Ul- 
tramarine or  those  of  cobalt.  But  for  cloth  and  all  stuffs  where 
the  tone  is  deep  and  obscure,  Prussian  Blue  is  to  be  preferred,  when 
of  good  quality ; and  not  only  for  dark  blues,  but  for  deep  greens 
or  dragon-green,  mixing  it  with  ochres,  as  Roman  Ochre,  or  the  or- 
dinary Yellow  Ochre,  according  to  the  case. 


PAINTING  OF  DRAPERY  EXEMPLIFIED. 


255 


The  mixture  indicated  may  appear  extraordinary,  in 
that  a great  deal  of  lake  is  used,  and  even  of  red  ochre, 
to  make  dark  blue  : yet  these  additions  are  absolutely  ne- 
cessary to  attenuate  the  harshness  and  too  great  vivacity 
which  a blue,  wherein  black  alone,  or  white,  should  be 
mingled,  would  infallibly  possess. 

Independently  of  its  local  tone,  this  mixture  is  useful 
for  covering  the  canvas ; which  could  not  be  perfectly 
aone,  without  the  black  and  ochre  to  diminish  the  transpa- 
rency of  the  two  other  component  colors. 

In  this  first-painting,  you  are  not  to  put  too  much  im- 
portance upon  the  detail  of  the  folds.  The  general  effect 
of  the  lights  and  shades,  and  the  covering  of  the  canvas, 
are  all  you  want  besides  a just  design.  Thus,  when  you 
come  to  the  second-painting,  your  contours  and  folds  being 
rectified  with  white  chalk,  you  will  not  be  embarrassed  by 
the  inexactness  of  the  sketch. 

Observe  to  add  a little  dryingoil  to  those  Cjombinationa 
with  which  you  have  not  mingled  white. 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  EXAMPLE  CONTINUED.  THE  SECOND-PAINTING. 

For  the  finishing-palette  you  compose  the  same  tints  and 
shades  as  for  the  deadcoloring,  except  the  darkest  of  the  four. 
In  this  you  are  to  put  none  of  the  lake  nor  red  ochre,  but  to 
compose  it  of  Cassel  Earth,  without  black,  of  Burnt  Car- 
mine, and  a little  Prussian  Blue  ; which  will  give  it  great 
depth  and  force,  as  well  as  a broken  tone  less  cold  than 
that  of  the  sketch.* 

Less  color  is  employed  in  this  second-painting  ; which 
is  commenced,  by  extending  a light  preparation  of  the  first 
mixture  (described  in  the  preceding  chapter),  pure,  without 
white,  over  the  whole,  or  at  least  over  such  a portion  as 
you  can  depend  upon  finishing  in  the  course  of  the  day. 

This  done,  you  proceed  as  follows.  You  begin  by  esta- 
blishing the  most  vigorous  of  the  shadows,  then  those  which 
are  less  so,  down  to  the  feeblest  of  all.  Next  comes  the 
local  color  of  the  cloth,  everywhere  where  it  is  neither 
shadowed,  nor  brightened  by  the  lights.  Then,  you  mix 
half  of  this  local  color  with  a third,  more  or  less,  of  that 
which  has  most  white,  and  paint  therewith  the  most  lumi- 

* The  shadow-side  of  a dress  should  be  lightly  reflected  and  of 
a broken  brownish  tone ; for  it  is  only  somewhat  visible,  in  that 
great  mass  of  shade,  by  the  effect  of  the  feeble  reflections  sent  to 
it  by  the  objects  of  the  ground.  This  is  the  case  not  only  in  colors 
moderately  bright,  but  also  in  blues,  blacks,  deep  greens,  and 
browns. 


EXAMPLE  CONTINUED. 


257 


nous  masses  everywhere  equally, — reserving  aa  usual 
certain  touches,  brighter  than  all  the  rest,  to  be  given  the 
moment  after  with  a portion  of  the  lightest  of  all  the  tints. 
Be  careful  however  not  to  make  your  lights  too  bright,  or 
your  stuff  will  not  resemble  cloth. 

The  same  course  is  to  be  pursued  in  the  painting  of  any 
drapery  whatever  ; that  is  to  say,  you  commence  always 
by  the  strongest  shadows,  after  having  spread  over  all  a 
light  local  preparation  free  of  white. 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILFAINTINO. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

OF  FLYING  DRAPERIES. 

If  it  were  not  to  complete  the  Part,  this  chapter  would  be 
omitted  altogether ; for  a young  artist  or  amateur  had 
better  never  meddle  with  draperies  of  this  sort,  which  re- 
quire not  only  consummate  tact  and  judgment  to  place 
them  with  propriety,  but  great  good-management  to  dispose 
them  (for  we  do  not  see  how  we  can  speak  of  either  casting 
or  setting  these)  even  where  they  are  most  appropriate. 
Further,  save  in  some  composition  of  invention  (in  which 
let  him  be  very  careful  not  to  sin  against  the  most  absolute 
truth,  since  here  to  fail,  that  is  in  an  attempt  with  these 
draperies,  would  be  consummately  ridiculous),  there  will 
be  rarely  if  ever  occasion  for  the  practice. 

But  if  he  should  require  to  take  this  risk,  let  the  young 
artist  go  to  the  original  source  of  all  truth  in  his  profession, 
namely  to  Nature.  Let  him  observe  what  movement  the 
agitation  of  the  wind  gives  to  the  extremities  of  a drapery^ 
under  various  circumstances,  and  consult  the  like  appear- 
ances when  presented  with  more  violence  of  movement  in 
a gust ; and  so  on  ; always  remembering  that  everything 
must  be  in  correspondence  in  the  picture  ; for  it  would  be 
great  remissness  to  make  a heavy  garment  lifted  or  swollen 
by  the  wind,  when  all  other  things  around,  that  in  their 
nature  are  even  perhaps  more  easily  agitated  by  the  same 
cause,  appear  to  be  totally  unmoved.  Prepared  by  obser- 
vation, the  artist  may  venture  upon  the  contrivance  adopted 


FLYING  DRAPERIES. 


259 


by  some  painters,  of  imitating  these  effects  in  their  study 
by  means  of  supports  of  wire. 

Finally  we  may  add,  that  a flying-drapery  of  some 
light  material  better  befits  the  character  of  a nymph,  or  a 
very  young  and  airy  figure,  than  a person  the  least  ma- 
ture, while  for  certain  makes  and  certain  ages  it  would 
be  purely  ridiculous : 

**  Romani  tollent  equites  peditesque  cachinnum 
Both  eits  and  connoisseurs  would  scout  the  farce. 


PART  VI 


LANDSCAPE-PAINTIINI* 


HANDBOOK  OF  OI1PAINTIN6 


PART  THE  SIXTH. 

CHAPTER  1. 

GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS.  IMITATION:  PROPRIETY. 

The  great  teacher  here,  as  in  other  branches  of  the  artj 
is,  we  need  not  say.  Nature,  though  to  profit  by  her  les- 
sons one  must  be  well  grounded  in  certain  principles,  which 
themselves  have  been  derived  from  the  same  source,  and 
which  represent  the  gathered  experience  of  ages.  He  who 
from  the  walls  of  an  exhibition-room  borrows  his  sole  pat- 
terns, and  shut  up  in  his  study  calls  upon  memory  and 
invention  to  direct  his  pencil,  may  become  a tolerable  imi- 
tator of  other  artists,  but  he  will  never  execute  anything 
that  is  really  his  own.  Not  but  the  study  of  the  perform- 
ances of  others,  if  not  carried  too  far,  is  always  useful, 
especially  in  landscape-painting,  both  because  it  is  easiei 
to  meet  with  works  of  merit  in  this  than  in  the  infinitely 
more  difficult  departments  of  history  and  portrait,  and  be- 
cause the  mode  of  operation  is  more  perceptible  ; and  let 
the  young  artist  and  the  amateur  observe  that  this,  the 
mode  of  operating,  and  the  principle  that  directed  it,  are 
all  that  they  should  really  study,  endeavoring  to  find  out 
how  such  and  such  results  were  obtained  and  why  they  are 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


desirable,  not  to  imitate  the  peculiarities,  however  agreea. 
ble,  of  this  or  that  artist.  But  over  all  let  the  divinity  of 
nature  preside ; and  renew  from  time  to  time  your  inspi- 
ration in  her  universal  temple.  There,  adoration  never 
can  be  in  excess,  and  a fervent  and  sincere  prayer  for 
favor  will  be  always  sure  of  being  answered.  Filled  with 
the  true  religion  of  the  scene,  and  fortified  by  all  your 
stores  of  knowledge,  then  will  your  efforts  have  to  recom- 
mend them  those  first  essentials,  truth  and  propriety.  No 
monstrous  pieces  will  then  be  hurried  from  your  easel, 
such  as  under  the  name  of  compositions  too  frequently  fill 
an  unregarded  place  in  public  galleries,  where  the  skies 
of  Italy  glow  upon  the  dank  herbage  and  humid  soil  of 
England,  and  Grecian  ruins  moulder  by  the  side  of  Gothic 
castles,  while  the  shepherd  of  Arcadia  waters  brick-red 
cows  in  the  stream  that  owes  its  visible  origin  to  the  snows 
of  Helvetian  Alps,  and  an  Indian  girl  of  America  hides 
her  tawny  beauties  beneath  the  symar,  though  disarrayed, 
of  an  odalisque,  and  smiles,  amid  her  embowering  native 
forests,  with  lips  and  eyes  that  evidenae  the  refined  coquetry 
and  cultivated  fancies  of  a Christian  city-lady. 

**  Sed  nunc  non  erat  his  locus  ! Et  fortaase  cupressum 
Scis  simulare.  Quid  hoc,  si  fractis  enatat  exspes 
Navibus,  acre  dato  qui  pingitur  ? Amphora  cmpit 
Institui ; currente  rota,  cur  urceus  exit  ? 

Denique  sit  quod  vis,  simplex  duntaxat  et  unum.” 

(Hor.  Art.  Poet.  19.) 

Yet  here  was  not  the  place  ! Perhaps  you  know 
Haw  too  to  paint  Schemas  father^ s promi^d  bow. 

Suppose  you  do^  why  stretch  it  o’er  the  Hast 
While  yet  the  sun  has  ten  hours’  life  at  least  7 
Paint  what  you  willy  but  pritheey  let  it  be 
Something  to  comprehendy  as  well  as  see. 


SKIES  AND  DISTANCES. 


265 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF  SKIES  AND  DISTANCES. 

Skies  and  distances,  and  even  great  sheets  of  water 
(where  calm  and  of  a celestial  blue)  should  be  painted, 
even  in  the  deadcolor,  with  pure  Ultramarine,  without  ad- 
mixture of  black.  With  other  blues  the  tone  would  not 
be  rendered  sufRcienlly  delicate  and  flying. 

The  tints  for  all  these  things,  and  especially  for  the 
skies,  are  graduated  in  intensity  by  means  of  a greater  or 
less  quantity  of  white.  The  deepest  is  employed  for  the 
highest  part  of  the  heaven,  which  grows  paler  and  paler 
as  we  descend  to  the  horizon,  where  no  more  blue  is  min- 
gled with  the  tint,  but  the  color  of  the  horizon,  more  or 
less  orange  for  example,  is  alone  used,  keeping  it  gradually 
lighter  and  more  luminous,  as  we  approach  the  earth  and 
the  point  nearest  the  sun.  That  the  passage  from  the 
pale  blue  to  the  orange  may  be  insensible,  it  is  necessary 
that  the  two  tints,  though  so  very  different  in  kind,  should 
have  the  same  degree  of  force.  The  tints  of  the  horizon 
vary  greatly  ; but  in  general,  the  most  ordinary,  for  a 
serene  sky,  partakes  of  the  hue  of  the  most  luminous 
fleshtint.  This  is  modified,  according  to  circumstances, 
by  rendering  it  more  roseate,  or  giving  it  more  of  a whitish, 
or  yellowish  cast,  and  even  sometimes  making  it  a little 
greenish  ; and  so  on.  All  which  and  more,  in  a climate 
like  our  own,  the  student  cannot  fail  to  have  observed,  and 
will  not  cease  to  notice  still. 

13 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINS. 


If  large  portions  of  the  sky  be  hung  with  clouds,  iv 
would  be  waste  of  time  and  color  to  cover  them  with  Ul- 
tramarine ; but  if  there  be  only  a few  liglit  clouds,  you 
need  not  be  so  particular  to  avoid  them,  and  sometimes 
you  will  not  at  all.  You  are  to  paint  these  vapors  over 
the  azure  with  but  little  color  ; now  of  a violaceous  gray, 
now  of  another  tint ; but  always  with  grays  composed  of 
Ultramarine,  White,  and  more  or  less  red  or  yellow  Ochre, 
and  sometimes  Crimson  Lake.  Tlie  horizon-tints  prepared 
on  the  palette  will  furnish  you,  then,  with  all  that  is  needed 
to  enliven  the  luminous  borders  of  these  clouds.  Besides 
which,  you  will  modify  your  tints  at  the  end  of  the  brush ; 
and,  by  means  of  your  provision  of  white,  you  will  brighten 
them  at  pleasure,  especially  for  the  horizon.  When  this 
is  of  a very  pure  tint,  you  must  make  use  of  Vermilion 
instead  of  Red  Ochre. 

If  you  have  to  paint  a gray  and  cloudy  sky,  do  not  in 
the  deadcolor  employ  Ultramarine  ; take  only  Cork-black, 
which  is  the  lightest  and  most  bluish  of  all  the  blacks. 
If  there  be  however  portions  that  are  blue,  or  simply  very 
bluish,  for  the  first  you  will  use  Ultramarine,  while  for  the 
latter  you  will  only  mingle  more  or  less  of  it  with  the 
black  and  white.  For  the  various-tinted  clouds,  you  will 
mix  with  your  grays  at  one  time  Light-red,  at  another  Lake, 
and,  when  they  take  a yellow-reddish  tinge.  Yellow  Ochre. 
Often  the  ultramarine  heightened  with  white  that  has  served 
you  for  the  sky,  on  being  mingled  with  one  of  the  warm 
colors  of  the  horizon,  furnishes  the  desired  tint ; besides 
which  you  add,  at  the  end  of  your  brush,  gray  or  one  of 
the  tints  indicated,  until  you  are  satisfied  with  the  modifi- 
cation : but  use  no  others,  except  one  of  the  vermilions 
in  certain  rare  cases  which  you  will  know  how  to  distin- 
guish ; otherwise  your  sky  would  become  heavy,  and  have 


SKIES  AND  DISTANCES. 


267 


nothing  in  its  aspect  evanishing,  especially  if  you  were  to 
take  Sienna  Earth  and  the  like. 

In  the  same  manner  you  proceed  when  you  come  to  the 
finishing.  Avoid,  though  without  embarrassing* yourself 
to  do  so,  laying  your  blue  or  gray  on  the  luminous  parts 
of  the  clouds. 

As  for  the  mode  of  applying  the  color,  it  is  the  same  as 
in  all  large  pieces,*  viz.  by  pats  of  the  brush,  given  in 
succession,  one  next  the  other,  from  left  to  right,  beginning 
at  the  left  angle  of  the  picture,  and  proceeding  obliquely 
at  an  inclination  of  about  forty-five  degrees,  afterwards 
spreading  these  lays  at  nearly  the  whole  length  of  the  hairs 
of  the  tool,  each  gradation  in  its  turn.  The  color,  being 
laid  of  the  same  thickness  throughout  the  whole,  is  then 
blended,  one  tone  with  another,  by  means  of  a large  firm 
badger. 

The  little  we  have  to  deliver  of  the  distances^  properly 
so  called,  that  is  to  say,  the  parts  which  are  seen  afar  back 
“ in  the  distance,”  is  that  they  are  laid  in  general  with  the 
sky-tints,  modified  to  suit  occasion.  All  the  difference  is 
that  there  will  be  some  light-greenish  tints  to  be  insinuated 
here  and  there  in  certain  places,  as  well  as  some  enlight- 
ened tones  very  nearly  of  a fleshcolor,  as  has  been  ob- 
served above.  The  distances  will  have  more  of  the  effect 
desired,  in  proportion  as  you  treat  them  broadly.  You  are 
to  manifest  only  the  masses  of  light  and  shadow,  touching 
them  in  a spirited  manner,  without  entering  into  details. 
Vagueness  is  necessary  both  in  tint  and  contour ; accord- 
ing, of  course,  to  the  degree  of  remoteness,  to  the  state 
of  the  atmosphere,  to  the  time  of  day,  etc.,  as  due  obser- 

* Backgrounds,  draperies,  etc. — The  beginning  at  the  left  of  the 
canvas  and  going  to  the  right,  instead  of  the  reverse  movement,  is 
the  direction  that  is  naturally  taken. 


268 


Handbook  of  oilpainting. 


vation,  reflection,  and  study,  not  to  say  a little  practice, 
will  speedily  teach  you.  At  first  we  hold  it  to  be  almost 
impossible  that  you  will  not  err  in  this  particular,  espe- 
cially if  you  be  punctilious  and  have  a strong  and  long 
sight,  as  we  have  elsewhere  intimated  (p.  232) ; but  the 
defect  thence  arising,  the  disappointment  in  expressing 
your  intentions,  will  soon  induce  you  to  abjure  these  details, 
looking  at  nature,  to  use  the  idea  of  Bouvier,  with  winking 
eyes  ; and  then  to  have  made  the  error  will  be  far  more 
serviceable,  because  it  lets  you  into  the  philosophy  of  the 
^ing,  than  to  have  gone  right  at  once,  under  the  instruc- 
tion, rarely  more  than  practical,  of  others.  In  conclusion, 
observe  how  good  artists  manage*  in  this  matter ; and  for 
some  good  notions  with  regard  to  it,  you  may  consult 
among  other  books  the  interesting  treatise  of  Da  Vinci,  an 
English  translation  of  which  (by  Rigaud,  we  think, — un- 
less there  be  one  later)  is  easily  accessible. 


HOW  TREES  ARE  CHARACTERED.  GENERAL  ADVICE.  269 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOW  TREES  ARE  CHARACTERED  IN  THEIR  KINDS.  THE 
MODE  OP  LEAFING.  ADVICE  TO  THE  BEGINNER. 

It  is  with  trees,  says  Bouvier,  as  with  the  stuffs  of  dra- 
pery ;*  as  the  latter  are  charactered  more  by  the  nature 
of  their  folds  than  by  tlieir  color,  so  it  is  rather  by  the 
nature  of  its  branching,  and  by  its  peculiar  sway,  so  to 
speak,  than  by  its  color  and  leafing  that  you  recognize  the 
species  of  a tree  that  is  not  in  the  remote  parts  of  a land- 
scape. 

It  is  far  from  useless,  however,  especially  in  the  case 
of  trees  that  are  near  the  eye,  to  study  the  foliage,  and  the 
hue  and  tone  of  verdure,  in  order  to  imitate  them  ; which 
is  to  be  done,  not  by  marking  out  each  leaf,  counting  them 
and  measuring  them  as  you  pile  them  upwards,  but  in  a 
general,  light,  and  graceful  manner,  with  a peculiar  touch 
and  handling  which,  without  painting  the  leaf  precisely, 
yet  lets  the  eye  at  once  perceive  of  what  family  it  is,  and 
thus  indicates  it  exactly  as  it  is  in  nature,  where  we  know 
at  once  the  chestnut  and  the  oak,  the  sycamore,  the  wil- 

* A happy  idea,  that  may  have  been  suggested,  though  uncon- 
sciously, by  the  following  fancy  of  Paul  Lomazzo  : “ I moti  de  % 
panni,  cioe  delle  loro  falde,  o vogliam  dir  pieghe,  hanno  da  scor- 
rere  in  tutte  le  parti,  wow  altrimenti  che  rami  da  tronco  d’ar 
boro  ; et  cosi  fare,  che  una  piega  nasca  dall’  altra,  come  esce  I’uno 
dall’  altro  ramo,  overo  onda  da  onda ; ec.”  Trattato  delV  Arte 
ec.  ii.,  22.  Milano  1584. 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


low,  the  ash,  l)efore  we  come  so  near  as  to  perceive  their 
fruit  or  mark  the  shaping  of  their  leaves. 

Study  all  this  in  the  real  object,  and  aid  the  pursuit  by 
consulting  some  of  the  many  lithographic  prints,  both 
French  and  English,  that  are  constantly  published  for  the 
purpose.  And  endeavor  to  begin  as  you  would  continue  ; 
for  a s^yle  formed  is  not  easy  to  be  corrected. 


DEADCOLORING  OF  TREES,  ETC. 


271 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MANAGEMENT  OF  TREES  IN  THE  FIRST-PAINTING.  THE 
DEADCOLORS  FOR  THESE  AND  OTHER  TERRESTRIAL  PARTS 
OF  LANDSCAPES. 

Trees  are  deadcolored,  without  details,  over  the  sky ; the 
ground,  or  priming  of  the  cloth  having  been  reserved  only 
in  the  centre  of  the  large  masses  of  foliage,  where  the 
sky  is  not  seen  through  the  branches.  Often,  even  the 
visible  portions  of  the  heaven,  when  very  small,  are  not 
excepted ; the  mass  is  covered  everywhere,  and  the  little 
points  of  azure  are  recalled  when  the  picture  is  repainted. 
But  it  is  essential  to  trace  faithfully  with  the  crayon  the 
tru  nks  and  principal  branches  before  laying  the  color  of  the 
sky  : these  outlines  will  be  sufficiently  apparent  through 
the  deadcoloring,  and  one  is  thus  secure  from  error. 

Do  not  in  the  first-painting  make  your  trees  of  a fine 
green,  not  even  those  which  occur  in  the  foregrounds  : pre- 
pare the  whole  with  color  of  a warmer  key,  that  is  to  say, 
rather  of  a foul  orange.  A deadcolor  of  this  sort  gives  to  the 
greens  of  the  second- painting  a harmony  and  tenderness 
of  tone,  that  they  would  not  otherwise  possess. 

It  is  supposed,  all  this  while,  that  the  priming  of  your 
cloth  is  of  a warm,  and  somewhat  golden  or  orange 
tint.  This  admits  of  your  laying  on  your  deadcolor 
at  once  ; whereas  if  you  use  the  ordinary  grayish- white 
ground,  it  will  need,  in  order  to  prevent  the  whole  land- 
scape, sky  and  all,  having  a cold,  watercolor-tone,  withoffi 


272 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTINO. 


depth,  a previous  preparation,  which  we  will  describe  in 
Chapter  VI. 

Finally,  as  in  the  first-painting  you  need  opaque  colors, 
that  will  cover  well,  employ  the  ochres ; Roman  Ochre 
for  the  vigorous  parts  and  Yellow  Ochre  for  the  lighter, 
mixing  therewith  white  according  to  occasion.  Naples 
Yellow  covers  sufficiently  well,  and  with  the  precaution 
not  to  mingle  white  with  it,*  you  may  use  it  for  the  gayer 
greens.  The  warm  tints  however  are  best  obtained  with 
the  ochres ; and  if  you  wish  you  may  add  to  them,  on  oc- 
casion,  a little  red  ochre ; Burnt  Sienna  would  not  cover 
sufficiently.  But  it  is  needless  to  extend  this  subject 
further ; or  to  tell  the  pupil  what  blues  he  must  use  to 
make  these  greens ; or  how  he  is  to  compose  his  browns. 
Perhaps  of  all  combinations  of  color  none  are  so  easy  to 
hit  right  as  those  for  the  terrestrial  parts  of  landscapes ; 
all  the  student  has  to  do  is  to  keep  his  eye  upon  nature, 
and,  bearing  well  in  mind  the  properties  of  the  various 
pigments,  and  the  chemical  changes  some  of  them  are  apt 
to  undergo,  of  which  so  copious  indications  have  been  given 
in  Part  L,  he  will  be  convinced,  by  his  very  first  essay, 
that  he  has  little  difficulty  to  encounter  here.  We  will  in 
the  next  chapter,  however,  say  a word  or  two  of  the  broken 
tints,  as  it  is  of  these  that  he  has  always  most  occasion. 

• Refer  to  pp  10,  11,  and  the  note  thereon  ; also  to  the  note  on 

p.  214. 


FINISHING  OF  TREES,  ETC. 


273 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  FINISHING  OF  TREES  AND  OTHER  VERDANT  PARTS. 
COMPOSITION  OF  BROKEN-GREENS.  GREENS  OF  THE  DIS- 
TANCES. ACCIDENTS  OF  SUNLIGHT. 

In  resuming  the  picture,  it  becomes  no  longer  of  importance 
that  the  color  should  have  a particular  body : hence  many 
pigments  that  in  the  sketch  you  had  rejected,  because  of 
their  too  great  transparency,  you  now  use  with  advantage, 
— always  however  attending  to  their  peculiar  properties, 
as  well  chemical  as  chromatic.  The  various  foul  and 
broken  greens,  that  are  used  in  various  parts  of  the  land- 
scape, are  of  course  combined  in  reference  to  the  nature 
of  the  piece,  in  all  its  circumstances  accidental  as  well  as 
stationary.  There  is  therefore  no  specific  rule.  Some 
examples  may  however  be  given  after  our  principal  author. 
Thus,  for  greens  in  shadow  there  is  no  need  of  blue  ; they 
may  be  made  simply  of  a blue-black  and  different  yel- 
lows : such  are  soft  and  very  harmonious.  Would  you 
have  the  tint  participate  still  more  of  a light-grayish  cast, 
as  in  the  case  of  willows  in  shadow,  and  certain  plants  ? 
Make  it  with  black,  Naples  Yellow,  and  more  or  less 
white.  If  a yellow-reddish  tint  be  needed  for  these  dull 
greens,  make  the  dark  yellows  abound,  and  use  even 
Sienna  Earth,  raw  or  calcined,  according  to  the  degree 
of  force,  of  ruddiness,  or  of  warmth  ; the  Brown  of  Prus- 
sian Blue  is  likewise  very  proper  here. 

But  if  the  verdant  part  that  you  are  painting  be  now 
13* 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


SO  far  back  in  the  perspective  that  the  violaceous  gray 
blue  tint  peculiar  to  the  distances  begins  to  take  an  aerial 
tone,  use  no  other  blue  than  Ultramarine,  or  in  default  of 
that,  Thenard’s  Blue.  The  lively  greens  that  it  would 
give  you,  mixed  with  Naples  Yellow  simply  or  with  Yellow 
Ochre,  you  will  break  with  Madder-lake,  or  sometimes 
with  a little  red  ochre,  and  almost  always  with  more  or 
less  white,  to  imitate  the  tint  of  the  atmosphere. 

The  greens  of  your  meadows  and  trees  must  always 
partake  a little  more,  by  degrees,  of  the  aerial  tone  of  the 
distances,  in  proportion  as  the  objects  recede  towards  the 
horizon  of  your  picture.  Nevertheless  do  not  deprive 
yourself  of  those  accidental  touches  of  the  sun’s  rays 
which  make  so  agreeable  an  effect  in  nature,  and  which 
give  such  important  aid  to  the  painter  in  separating  the 
various  divisions  of  his  landscape,  and  in  breaking  the 
dull  monotony  it  would  have,  if  everywhere  equally 
shaded  by  clouds.  These  bright  spots  of  light  should  be 
slightly  golden,  without  having  however  all  the  energy  of 
similar  accidents  in  the  foreparts  of  the  piece.  Some  of 
them  are  yellowish,  others  nankin  or  almost  flesh  color, 
others  roseate,  others  of  an  orange  tint,  and  so  on,  varying 
to  infinity,  according  to  the  state  of  the  sky  and  atmo- 
sphere, to  the  height  of  the  sun,  to  the  nature  of  the  soil, 
or  of  its  products  in  that  place,  to  the  season,  and  lastly, 
yet  chiefly,  to  the  country  represented  by  the  scene. 


PREPARATORY  GLAZE  FOR  WHITE  OR  GRAY  GROUNDS.  21^* 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PREPARATION  FOR  A LANDSCAPE  WHEN  THE  GROUND  OF  THE 
SUBJECTILE  IS  WHITE  OR  LIGHT-GRAY.  ADVANTAGES  OP 
THE  METHOD. 

We  have  said,  in  Chapter  IV.,  that  if  the  subjectile  be  pre- 
pared with  a ground  of  a warm,  orange-yellow  tint,  you 
may  begin  your  sketch  at  once  with  thick  colors,  in  the 
manner  there  detailed.  If,  however,  the  ground  you  have 
to  paint  on  be  a grayish  white,  it  is  advisable  to  make  at 
first  merely  a sort  of  preparatory  sketch  in  very  transpa- 
rent color,  a wash  in  fact  similar  in  application  to  that 
recommended  for  making  out  the  general  effect  of  a head, 
saving  that  in  the  latter  case  you  lay  in  only  the  principal 
shadows,  whereas  in  the  landscape  you  reserve  nothing, 
painting  or  rather  tinging  all,  with  a warm  orange  color, 
brighter  for  the  lights  and  darker  for  the  vigorous  parts. 
In  saying  all,  the  sky  of  course  and  the  extreme  distances 
are  likewise  included,  only  that  in  their  case  the  gayest 
and  brightest  tone  is  selected.* 

• Bardwell,  who  wrote  in  the  reign  of  George  II.,  now  90  years 
ago,  recommends  a similar  process,  to  which  he  applies  the  term 
tketching.  This  glaze  with  him,  however,  is  only  partial,  or  like  that 
recommended,  in  our  manual,  for  the  making  out  of  the  effect  of  a 
head  ; for  his  ground  is  already  prepared  warm,  of  what  he  calls  a 
“tanned-leather  color”  (made  of  Brown  Ochre,  Light  Red,  and 
White),  which  tint,  he  says,  “ gives  a warmth  to  the  shadow-colors, 
and  is  very  agreeable  and  proper  for  glazing.” 

We  will  copy  his  indications,  chiefly  however  as  a curiosity,  and 


276 


HANDBOOK  OF  OTLPAINTING. 


This  sort  of  preparation  presents  great  advantages 
The  first  is  that  of  establishing  in  a measure  the  effect : 
one  paints  thereon  (when  perfectly  dry)  with  greater  con- 
fidence, and  is  able  to  advance  the  second  sketch  or  dead- 
coloring much  more  than  could  have  been  done  without 
it ; so  that  one  can  terminate  the  picture  at  the  third  re- 
sumption with  but  little  labor,  and  may  even  do  it  without 
a third  painting,  by  merely  adding  to  the  previoas  work 
certain  spirited  touches  and  sundry  glazes.  The  second 
advantage  is  not  less  than  the  first : it  is  that  these  warm 
under-colors  pierce  always  a little  through  the  upper  lay, 
and  thereby  give  to  the  superinduced  tints  a certain  ripe- 
ness and  fullness  of  tone  that  is  very  desirable. 

as  confirmatory  of  the  advice  of  Bouvier ; for,  whatever  the  good 
sense  of  these  old  writers,  their  colors  and  combinations  are  rarely 
to  be  ventured  upon  by  an  inexperienced  artist,  inasmuch  as  they 
are  adopted  in  general  merely  for  their  chromatic  effect,  and  with 
little  if  any  regard  to  their  chemical  nature  : a remark  though, 
that  is  not  meant  to  apply  to  the  present  example,  where  the  me- 
thod recommended,  if  understood  strictly  as  its  author  intended 
and  is  particular  in  defining  it,  for  a wash  or  glaze  of  the  faintest 
kind,  cannot  be  considered  but  of  excellent  prescription. 

“ Sketching,  or  rubbing  in  the  design,  is  the  first  work  of  the 
picture.  This  should  be  done  with  Burnt  Umber,  drove  with 
drying-oil  and  a little  oil  of  turpentine,  in  a faint,  slight,  scumb- 
ling, free  manner,  as  we  shade  with  Indian-ink  and  water ; leaving 
the  color  of  the  cloth  for  the  lights  as  we  do  that  of  the  paper 
Remember,  in  doing  it,  we  leave  no  part  of  the  shadows  so  dark 
as  we  intend  the  first  lay  or  deadcoloring,  which  is  to  be  lighter 
than  the  finishing-colors.  And  though  the  foliage  of  the  trees  is 
only  rubbed  in,  with  a faint  sort  of  scumbling,  yet  the  trunks  and 
bodies  should  be  in  their  proper  shapes,  with  their  breadths  of  light 
and  shadow.  All  kinds  of  buildings  should  be  done  in  the  same  man- 
ner, leaving  the  color  of  the  cloth  for  their  lights.  The  figures  on 
the  foreground,  if  they  are  determined,  should  also  be  sketched  in 
the  same  method,  and  then  left  to  dry.” 


GROUNDS. 


277 


Many  of  the  most  celebrated  painters,  both  Italians  and 
Flemings,  in  avoiding  the  coldness  of  a white  or  a grayish 
ground  for  their  subjectiles,  have  gone  into  the  other  ex- 
treme by  choosing  one  of  light  or  of  deep  red  ochre.  Hence 
their  pictures  have  darkened.  There  are  several  examples 
of  this  effect  in  the  productions  of  two  celebrated  French 
painters  who  adopted  the  same  usage,  Poussin  and  Lebrun  : 
their  works,  especially  those  of  the  former,  are  almost  en- 
tirely disfigured  by  this  brown  tint,  which  has  made  its 
way  through  their  carnations  and  even  all  the  rest. 

A just  mean  will  be  had  between  the  coldness  of  gray 
grounds  and  the  too  great  intensity  of  red-brown,  by 
selecting  orange ; an  orange,  however,  in  which  the  yellow 
predominates,  not  the  red. 


PART  Til 


•Sa  VARNISHING,  CLEANING,  REPAIEIKIIj 
AND  LINING  OF  PICTURES. 


1 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


PARX  XHE  SEVENTH.  ' 


CHAPTER  I. 

OF  THE  VARNISH  MADE  OF  WHITE-OF-EGG,  ITS  USES;  AND 
THE  MODE  OF  APPLYING  IT. 

Supposing  now  that  our  novice  has  finished  his  picture, 
whether  landscape,  group,  or  simple  head,  he  will  be  im- 
patient to  varnish  it.  He  breathes  upon  it ; a vapor  gathers 
boldly  on  the  colored  surface,  and  obscures  it  for  a few 
seconds  ere  it  disappears  : he  touches  it  with  his  fingers  ; 
they  leave  no  mark  : — His  picture  is  dry.  It  is ; but  it  is 
not  thoroughly  so  ; not  hard-dry,  so  to  express  it.  To 
varnish  it  immediately,  would  prevent  the  further  evapo- 
ration of  the  oil,  which,  thus  imprisoned,  will  more  or  less 
embrown  his  colors ; perhaps  too,  these  colors,  straitened 
by  the  thin  yet  harder  over-couch  of  resin,  and  thus  im- 
peded in  their  natural  expansion  while  still  imperfectly 
dry,  will  burst  their  restraint,  and  the  picture  will  open  in 
cracks.  But  what  then  1 the  lapse  of  months  may  be 
needed  to  complete  the  drying  ; and  in  the  meantime,  for 
the  purpose  of  exhibition,  or  to  be  enabled  to  judge  the 
effect  of  his  performance,  the  artist  wishes  to  remove  that 
irregularity  of  appearance  which  is  caused  by  the  dullness 


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of  some  parts  and  the  glistening  of  others,  and  wi.ich  pre. 
vents  a just  view  of  the  whole.  In  this  case  he  applies  a 
false  or  temporary  varnish  of  the  Mdiite  of  eggs ; which  is 
done  in  the  follov/ing  manner. 

Having  first  washed  and  dried  the  painfing,  as  has  been 
directed  for  the  sketch,  or  deadcoloring,  but  with  still  more 
care  (that  the  finer  finishing-touches  and  the  delicate  gla- 
zings may  not  be  injured),  he  beats  together  the  white  of  a 
fresh  egg,  a teaspoonful  of  alcohol,  and  a very  little  sugar- 
candy  which  has  been  previously  dissolved  in  just  enough 
of  water  to  make  it  a thick  yet  fine  syrup.  Having  ready 
a soft  sponge,  that  has  been  made  supple,  by  wringing  it 
out  of  water  (as  the  doctors  say),  but  so  thoroughly  that 
no  superfluous  moisture  is  left,  he  dips  it  into  the  froth  of 
the  beaten  glair,  and  passes  it  uniformly,  yet  rapidly,  over 
the  whole  surface  of  the  picture.  In  fifteen  minutes  or 
so,  this  varnish  will  be  dry,  and  with  its  drying  will  dis- 
appear, on  merely  touching  them,  the  few  little  bubbles  it 
may  have  left  on  the  canvas;  though,  if  applied  very 
lightly,  none  such  may  appear  at  all. 

The  object  of  taking  but  the  froth  of  the  mixture  is  that 
the  coat  may  be  the  lightest  possible,  and  thus  the  oil  of 
the  colors  have  room  for  their  evaporation  through  its 
pores. 

Bouvier  recommends  the  renewing  of  this  coat  at  the 
end  of  a fortnight  for  the  first  month,  and  afterwards  once 
every  two  months,  until  the  regular  varnish  is  to  be  ap- 
plied, giving  as  his  reason,  that  the  oil  which  evaporates 
through  it  is  arrested  in  part  by  the  white-of-egg,  and 
forms  a sort  of  scurf,  which  would  at  last  harden  if  the 
coat  were  not  renewed.  Besides,  the  repeated  washing 
this  changing  of  the  egg- varnish  necessitates  ( for  each  coat 


EGG-VARNISH. 


283 


is  removed  by  simple  water  and  the  sponge),  helps  the 
desiccation  of  the  colors. 

For  ourself  we  know  nothing  at  all  about  this  process, 
having  never  used,  and  intending  never  to  use,  the  white- 
of-egg.  We  can  only  assure  the  young  artist  thatBouvier 
(a  most  reliable  authority)  affirms  to  having  never  found 
this  preliminary  preparation,  or  substitute  for  the  regular 
varnish,  do  any  harm.  Perhaps  the  reason  may  be  found, 
in  the  fact  of  his  using  only  the  froth  of  the  mixture,  and 
of  his  renewing  the  coat  so  often  ; for  it  is  certain  that  the 
thicker  part  or  bottom  of  the  beaten  glair,  which  is  of  very 
ancient  use,*  and  is  adopted  still  because  of  its  lustre, 
would  if  not  soon  changed  be  attended  with  the  same  ha- 
zard as  a genuine  resin-varnish  too  soon  applied,  tearing 
up  the  colors  from  the  priming,  and  cracking  them.  Thus 
Prange,  who  added  to  the  German  translation  of  Bouvier’s 
manual  a treatise  on  the  Restoration  of  Old  Paintings,  that 
has  since  been  incorporated  into  the  new  edition,  says  that 
when  the  v;hite-of-egg  is  old  it  is  soluble  neither  in  water 
nor  by  acids ; that  therefore,  when  pure,  this  varnish  is  as 
hurtful  to  pictures  as  that  of  amber  or  of  copal ; and 
again,  in  another  place,  “ the  varnish  of  white-of-egg,  re- 
peated sometimes  for  ages  together,  ends  by  forming  a crust 
of  a yellowish  brown,  which  is  harder  than  gum-copal  or 
the  varnish  of  yellow  amber,  and  resists  all  the  salts  and 
all  the  acids.”  He  tells  us  though,  that  when  mixed  with 

* The  oldest  of  the  Italian  artist-writers,  Cennino,  prescribes  this 
false  varnish  (though  we  do  not  see  why  it  should  be  called  such), 
this  temporary  varnish  then,  as  a substitute  for  the  permanent  one, 
until  the  picture  should  be  ready  for  the  latter.  His  recipe  is  to 
let  the  beaten  glair  stand  for  a night  to  clear,  and  to  use  the  clear 
part.  On  distemper  however  the  same  danger  could  not  attend  its 
application. 


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brandy,  and  beaten  with  a little  sugar,  it  is  removable,  and, 
thus  compounded  (see  again  p.  *282),  he  considers  it  good 
for  new  paintings.  Yet  Bouvier  says  that  in  summer  the 
sugar  is  not  to  be  added,  on  account  of  the  flies,  which  soon 
spoil  the  whole  effect  of  the  varnish.  Finally,  De  Burtin 
advises  that  it  should  be  never  used  either  for  old  or  new 
paintings. — With  these  indications,  gathered  from  solid  au- 
thorities and  compared  Vv  ith  many  others,  with  considerable 
pains,  we  must  leave  the  young  artist  to  follow  his  own 
judgm.ent,  adding  that  the  method  for  removing  from  an 
old  picture  a coat  of  white-of-egg-varnish  that  has  hardened, 
in  which  Prange  and  De  Burtin  both  agree,  is  by  first 
softening  the  matter  with  linseed-oil,  left  upon  it  for  a couple 
of  hours,  and  th»  n removing  both  together  by  spirits  of 
v/uie. 


VARNISHING  WITH  MASTIC-VARNISH. 


285 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  E OF  VARNISHING  WITH  MASTIC-V  ARNISH. 

A ll  authon  in  the  art  unite  in  deploring  the  necessity  of 
varnishes  of  any  sort,  and  in  recommending  as  the  least  ob- 
jectionable tnat  of  mastic  (see  Chap,  xvi.,  Part  1.).  Hence 
this  has  got  the  name,  by  distinction,  of  picturevarnisk. 

When  the  painting  is  ready  to  receive  it,  you  wash  and 
dry  it  as  before : then  placing  it  flat  on  a table,  in  order 
that  the  varnish  may  not  run,  you  go  over  it  as  rapidly  as 
you  can,  consistently  with  care,  uniformity  of  motion,  and 
firmness  of  touch,  beginning  at  the  top  of  the  picture  and 
descending  to  the  bottom  in  a straight  line,  then  lifting  the 
brush  and  repeating  the  same  movement  next  to  the  band 
cf  varnish  already  laid,  until  the  whole  surface  is  spread  ; 
when  this  is  done,  without  taking  any  more  varnish,  you 
go  over  the  breadth  of  the  picture  in  the  same  manner 
wdih  the  same  brush,  in  order  to  equalize  the  coat  and  to 
spread  it  moreover  on  the  little  spots  that  have  not  yet  taken 
it.  You  then  leave  the  picture  as  it  lies  until  the  varnish 
is  sufficiently  stiff  to  permit  your  hanging  it  up  without 
danger,  which  will  be  in  the  course  of  a very  few  hours, 
when  you  suspend  it  from  the  wall  to  complete  the  drying. 
This,  in  summer,  in  our  climate,  is  the  ivork  of  a single 
day. 

It  is  supposed  you  will  have  taken  more  than  usual 
precautions  against  dust,  and  the  like  annoyances.  Should 


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HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


however  any  substance,  whether  insect,  or  down,  have  been 
arrested  by  the  varnish,  the  better  course  is  to  wait  until 
the  couch  be  perfectly  dry,  when  the  blemish  may  be  re 
moved  with  much  less  risk. 

The  brushes  used  are  of  various  widths,  as  well  as  of 
different  materials.  The  badger-hair  is  the  softer  kind  ; 
and  the  size  should  be,  in  proportion  to  the  picture,  as  large 
as  you  can  use  conveniently.  When  you  have  done  the 
work,  it  is  not  necessary  to  wash  out  the  residue  of  the 
varnish  with  turpentine : the  more  usual  way  is  to  let  tlie 
brush  dry,  until  you  can  put  it  aside  with  a loose  envelope 
of  paper  so  secured  to  it  as  not  to  bend  the  hair,  and  when 
you  have  a new  occasion  for  it,  to  let  it  soak  a while  in 
spirit  of  turpentine,  until  the  old  resin  is  completely  dis- 
solved, and  removed  to  the  very  last  grain. 

Put  the  couch  on  thin  ; for  you  can  always  add  another 
lay,  when  the  first  is  thoroughly  dry. 

If  by  any  accident  the  varnish  of  a painting  have  become 
dull,  and  it  be  wished  merely  to  revive  its  transparency  and 
lustre,  you  may  go  over  it  with  a very  thin  coat  of  pure 
spirit  of  turpentine,* — applying  it  very  rapidly  and  adroitly, 
otherwise  the  varnish  would  be  dissolved. 

Anything  further  that  is  requisite  to  be  observed,  the 
young  artist  will  soon  acquire  for  himself.  But  as  he 
cannot,  however  dexterous,  be  expected  to  do  his  first  job 
of  the  kind  as  well  as  if  he  had  experience,  it  is  better,  if 
he  have  more  than  one  picture,  to  begin  with  the  smallest, 
as  being  easier  to  manage  well. 

• “ This  proceeding,”  says  De  Burtin  {Traiti  des  Connaissancts, 
etc..  T.  1,  ch.  XV.,  art.  9),  “is  so  little  capable  of  injuring  a 
picture,  that  the  greatest  connoisseurs  ” (to  which  class  De  B. 
belonged,  not  to  the  painters)  “ regard  it  as  even  necessary,  and 
employ  it  from  time  to  time  to  prevent  the  too  great  dryness  of 
pictures.” 


REMOVING  OF  A MASTIC-VARNISH. 


287 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  METHODS  FOR  REMOVING  A MASTIC-VARNISH,  WHEN 
NECESSARY. 

Ween  the  varnish  of  a picture  has  become  embrowned, 
obscured,  or  fouled  to  such  a degree  as  greatly  to  injure 
its  effect,  it  becomes  desirable  to  remove  it  and  replace  it 
with  another.  We  say  to  such  a degree  as  greatly  to  injure 
its  effect,  because  commonsense  dictates  that  it  is  better  to 
put  up  with  a slight  disadvantage  than  to  run  the  risk  of 
incurring  others  that  are  very  considerable,  and  we  hold 
it  to  be  always  the  case  that  a picture  is  exposed  by  this 
operation  to  more  or  less  hazard,  no  matter  liow  it  may  be 
conducted.  In  this  we  are  sustained  by  the  most  judicious 
writers  on  the  subject,  and  we  are  only  surprised  that 
Bouvier  should  not  have  given  a similar  caution,  the  more 
so  that  De  Burtin,  whom  he  had  evidently  consulted,  ex- 
pressly urges  it.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  almost  impossible 
that  the  motion  given  in  the  operation  to  the  cloth,  which 
is  the  ordinary  subjectile,  should  not  in  some  degree,  though 
it  may  be  so  slight  as  to  be  at  first  imperceptible,  disturb 
the  cohesion  of  the  colors ; and  thus,  on  a repetition  of  the 
process,  we  have  cracks,  a serious  evil  in  more  respects 
than  one.  Then,  many  delicate  touches  and  retouches  are 
liable  to  be  removed,  especially  if,  as  is  sometimes  the  case, 
the  latter  have  been  combined  with  the  varnish.  More 
than  this,  should  the  varnish  have  been  applied  before  the 
picture  was  thoroughly  dry,  the  dissolved  resin  will  have 


288 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


probably  incorporated  itself  with  the  solid  color,  and  the 
removing  of  the  one  will  sweep  away  the  other ; a woful 
accident ! of  which  9,0  instance  lately  fell  under  the 
writer’s  own  observation. 

It  is  certainly  always  better  when  a picture  is  not 
cracked,  especially  if  it  he  a modern  one,  which  is  seldom 
painted  on  any  but  a ground  or  priming  in  oil,  to  try 
what  simple  rainwater  of  the  purest  kind  will  effect  to- 
wards cleansing  the  fouled  surface.  A sponge  moistened 
therewith  rubbed  gently  over,  and  a soft  rag  used  to  dr^’ 
it,  repeating  the  process  until  the  rag  shows  no  longer  any 
sign  of  dirt,  will  frequently  be  sufficient  to  restore  their  full 
effect  to  the  colors.  And  as  for  the  embrowning  of  the  var- 
nish,  there  are  even  cases  where  it  is  rather  an  advantage. 

With  these  premonitions,  we  may  now  describe  wdiat  aie 
generally  allowed  to  be  the  best  means  of  removing  an  or* 
dinary  picturevarnish,  that  is,  one  made  of  mastic  and 
spirit  of  turpentine.  These  are,  first,  by  dry  attrition  with 
the  fingers  and  some  resinous  powder ; secondly,  by  the 
application  of  spirit  of  wine  or  brandy.  The  latter  mode 
is  perhaps  the  better  for  old  paintings  ; the  former  for  new 
ones,  whose  colors  might  not  be  sufficiently  hard  to  resist 
the  action  of  the  spirit. 

In  the  first  mode,  you  lay  the  picture  on  a table,  and 
commencing,  as  in  all  cases  is  to  be  advised,  with  seme 
unimportant  part,  you  sprinkle  a pinch  of  pulverized 
rosin  on  the  place  and  rub  it  gently  until  the  varnish  there- 
upon is  reduced  to  powder,  proceeding  thus  from  place  to 
place,  the  dust  of  the  varnish  itself  assisting  you,  until 
you  have  completed  the  picture.  From  time  to  time,  you 
will  have  carefully  brushed  away  the  dust,  with  a feather, 
assisted  by  your  breath,  in  order  to  observe  your  progress 
When  you  have  gone  over  every  part  and  the  whole  can 


REMOVING  OF  A MASTIC-VARNISH. 


289 


vas  appears  dull,  you  clean  it  with  still  more  care  (but 
without  applying  any  moisture),  and  then  begin  to  remove 
what  may  still  remain  of  the  couch.  This,  of  course,  is 
the  nicest  part  of  the  work ; for  care  must  be  had  not  to 
continue  the  rubbing  a moment  after  you  have  come  to  the 
bare  color,  which  will  be  immediately  indicated  by  the 
part’s  making  no  more  dust.  To  avoid  the  wearing-off  of 
the  cuticle  of  the  fingers,  as  well  as  the  unpleasant  sensa- 
tion caused  by  this  tedious  friction,  fine  fish-skin  is  said  to 
he  much  used.  Perhaps,  if  the  touch  be  very  delicate, 
the  sense  of  feeling  we  mean  in  the  extremity  of  the  fin- 
gers, a thin  and  tight-fitting  kid  glove  might  be  worn : but 
it  is  necessary  that  one  should  have  the  nicest  physical 
perception,  by  the  touch  as  well  as  sight,  of  all  that  he  is 
doing.  Do  not  bear  too  heavily  on  the  canvas  ; and  even 
sustain  it  by  placing  the  left  hand  behind  the  part  you  are 
operating  on.  When  the  work  is  done,  you  wash  and  dry 
it  in  the  manner  already  described,  and  it  is  readyjo  re- 
ceive a new  varnish. 

Where  alcohol  is  used,  or  brandy  (Bouvier  names  the 
latter  only  in  this  case ; and  it  is  to  be  good  [which 
is  pure  spirit  of  wine],  not  common  brandy),  the  picture 
being  laid  on  a table  as  before,  a fine  and  clean 
bii  of  linen  dipped  in  the  brandy  is  held  in  one  hand 
and  a soft  sponge  moistened  with  fair  water  in  the 
ct'ier.  Dabbing  with  great  gentleness  a portion  of  the 
picture  for  a few  moments,  with  the  former,  the  sponge  is 
then  applied  to  wash  off  the  spirit : and  so  on,  with  great 
care,  and  from  place  to  place,  until  the  picture  is  cleaned  ; 
never  of  course  dwelling  on  a spot  a moment  longer  than 
is  necessary.  When  the  whole  of  the  varnish  is  thus  re- 
nwved,  in  which  process  you  will  have  taken  care  to 
change  the  rag  as  often  as  it  is  soiled,  you  wash  the  whole 


2&0 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


over  with  fair  water,  and  dry  it  carefully,  an!  with  ten. 
deniess  of  action. 

I'he  author  of  the  Traite  CompIeJ,  in  copying  the  above 
methods  from  Bouvier,  adds  that  the  yolk  of  egg  has  the 
property  of  dissolving  resins,  and  may  be  employed  with 
success.  It  is  beaten  up  with  a drop  of  brandy,  and,  thus 
prepared,  it  is  left  upon  the  picture  for  some  time,  when  it 
is  removed  by  warm  water,  or  by  the  aid  of  brandy. 

Spirit  of  turpentine  is  often  mixed  with  alcohol  for  a 
iiae  purpose,  the  latter  in  greater  quantity  if  the  couch  of 
varnish  be  thick,  the  former  if  it  be  thin.  But  this  com- 
bination had  better  not  be  ventured  on  by  a raw  hand.  Its 
mordant  properties  however  may  be  guarded  against  by 
means  of  oil.  This  is  first  rubbed  upon  the  part  to  be 
acted  on  ; the  solvent  being  then  applied  begins  immedi- 
ately to  take  effect,  and  the  action  is  stopped,  the  instant  it 
ceases  to  be  necessary,  by  using  again  the  oil.  It  has  been 
recomnaended  even  to  add  a small  portion  of  poppy-oil  tc 
the  mixture  itself ; and  the  addition  of  copaiba- balsam  has 
been  suggested  for  the  same  purpose. — As  in  the  method 
above,  the  rag,  or  sponge,  or  cotton,  or  whatever  is  em- 
ployed (usually  gathered  into  the  form  of  a little  ball), 
that  has  been  dipped  into  the  spirituous  preparation,  is  held 
in  one  hand,  while  that  with  the  pure  oil  is  kept  ready  in 
the  other. 

Once  more,  when  alcohol  and  spirit  of  turpentine  are 
used,  either  separately  or  together,  it  cannot  be  done  with 
too  much  caution  ; in  a new  painting  especially,  where  in 
an  instant,  before  you  can  be  well  aware  of  it,  the  powerful 
solvent  will  eat  through  the  color,  and  if  not  stopped  even 
corrode  the  ground.  Yet  it  is  the  combination  of  these 
two  spirits  that  forms  the  usual  purifying  or  cleansing 
water  of  the  picturedealers. 


REPARATION  OF  PICTURES. 


29) 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  CERTAIN  INJURIES  TO  WHICH  PAINTINGS  ON  CANVAS 
ARE  LIABLE,  AND  THE  MODES  OF  REPAIRING  THEM. 

When,  by  the  continued  pressure  of  some  hard  body,  the 
canvas  presents  either  a concavity  or  convexity  in  a portion 
of  its  surface,  it  must  be  well  wet,  in  that  part,  and  then 
left  gradually  to  dry  in  some  cool  place,  keeping  it  con- 
stantly under  pressure. 

When  the  color  has  separated  from  the  priming,  swelling 
forward  in  places,  whilst  the  priming  still  remains  firm,  the 
following  means  will  often  answer  to  repair  the  injury. 
The  swollen  and  detached  part  is  first  rubbed  over  with  the 
same  paste  which  will  be  presently  mentioned  as  used  for 
lining.  Then,  with  a pin  or  needle,  little  holes  are  punc- 
tured in  the  part,  and  more  paste  rubbed  over  these  holes 
with  a pencil,  and  worked  about  so  that  it  shall  pass 
dirough  them.  The  surface  is  then  wiped  clean,  and  over 
the  spot  a pencil  is  passed  that  has  been  dipped  into  linseed- 
oil  ; this  serves  to  soften  it.  A warm  iron  (against  whose 
excessive  heat  the  operator  should  be  assured,  trying  it  as 
laundresses  do)  is  then  passed  rapidly  over  the  raised  sur- 
fiice,  v/hich  attaches  itself  to  the  priming  as  before.  Should 
]'!  bs  necessary  to  line  the  canvas  with  a new  one,  it  should 
be  done  previously. 

'When  a canvas  is  broken,  rent,  or  pjerf orated  in  any  part, 
the  best  means  to  rejoin  and  secure  the  parts,  or  stop  the 
hole,  appears  to  us  to  be  the  following,  which  we  select 


292 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


from  the  same  copious  source  that  has  furnished  us  the 
preceding  indications.  The  piece  of  canvas,  that  is  used 
to  repair  the  damage  in  either  case,  is  dipped  into  melted 
wax,  and  applied  the  moment  it  is  taken  out,  warm  as  it 
is,  to  the  part,  which  has  been  previously  brought  together 
as  well  as  possible  and  also  saturated  with  the  wax.  With 
a spatula  you  flatten  down  the  piece,  so  that,  as  the  wax 
chills  and  concretes,  which  is  almost  immediately,  the  parts 
adhere  and  are  kept  smooth.  The  whole  being  made  per- 
fectly  level  and  the  excess  of  the  wax  removed,  a mastic 
made  of  whitelead  mixed  with  starch  is  applied,  for  oil- 
color  does  not  adhere  well  to  wax.  The  white  is  after- 
wards colored  thin,  or  by  washes,  according  to  the  tone  of 
the  surrounding  parts,  and  repainted. — We  are  assured 
that  by  this  method,  extreme  atmospheric  changes  will  have 
no  effect  upon  the  new  piece,  whereas,  if  attached  with  a 
glue  (the  usual  mode),  it  would  be  apt  to  wrinkle  in  dry 
weather,  and  render  the  repair  perceptible. 

When  the  priming  of  a canvas  has  become  detached,* 
or  the  cloth  is  so  old  as  to  need  sustaining,  it  is  customary 
to  paste  a new  cloth  on  the  back  ; which  is  called  lining 
the  picture.  This  mode  of  strengthening  the  original  can- 
vas is  so  constantly  met  with  in  old  pictures  of  any  value, 
that  it  is  proper  the  amateur  should  understand  the  process : 
besides,  he  might  wish  on  occasion  to  double  the  cloth  of 
his  own  picture,  for  the  sake  of  greater  durability,  as  we 
have  intimated  in  Part  I.,  Chap,  xxiii. 

In  order  to  render  the  old  canvas  and  the  color  softer 
and  more  manageable,  it  is  recommended  to  expose  the 

• That  is,  supposing  that  the  canvas  itself  is  not  greatly  injured, 
and  the  separation  of  the  ground  is  not  to  a very  great  extent ; 
for  in  such  case  the  painting  itself  is  transferred,  and  removed  to  » 
new  siibjectile. 


REPARATION  OF  PICTURES. 


293 


picture  for  several  days  to  the  damp  of  a cellar. — When 
all  is  ready,  the  first  step  the  operator  takes  is  to  fasten  by 
a thin  flour-paste  white  paper  over  the  whole  painted  side 
of  the  picture.  This  is  to  prevent  the  colors’  scaling  off, 
and  other  injuries,  in  the  different  movements  and  frictions 
which  the  piece  must  undergo.  Having  a choice  new 
canvas  duly  stretched  on  a new  and  strong  frame,  a uni- 
form couch  of  well-boiled  paste,  made  of  rye  flour  with  a 
clove  of  garlic,  is  spread  nicely  over  it  by  means  of  a 
large  brush.  With  despatch,  yet  care,  a couch  of  the 
same  paste  is  spread  likewise  on  the  back  of  the  picture. 
The  latter  is  then  laid  upon  the  new  cloth,  the  two  pasted 
sides,  of  course,  together.  With  a ball  of  linen  the  usual 
rubbing  is  given  with  a strong  hand,  beginning  at  the 
centre,  and  passing  to  the  edges,  which  must  be  carefully 
kept  in  place  the  while.  In  this  way,  the  air  is  expressed 
from  between,  which  remaining  would  cause  blisters. 

The  picture,  thus  lined,  is  then  placed  upon  a smooth 
table,  the  painted  side  down,  and  the  back  of  the  new  can- 
vas is  rubbed  over  boldly  with  any  suitable  smoothing- 
instrument,  such  as  is  used  for  linen,  paper,  cloths,  or  the 
like.  A hatter’s  iron,  we  should  think,  would  be  very 
proper.  Some  persons  (indeed  it  is  the  usual  mode) 
add  to  the  process  the  effect  of  a warm  iron  passed  over 
the  picture,  opposing  on  the  other  side  a board  to  resist  the 
pressure.  The  paste  being  heated  by  this  iron,  and  thus 
made  more  liquid,  penetrates  on  the  side  of  the  picture  the 
oH  canvas,  and  fixes  still  more  firmly  the  painting,  while 
on  the  other  side  the  redundant  part  of  the  paste  escapes 
thivugh  the  tissue  of  the  new  cloth,  so  that  there  remains 
e ;ery  where  an  equal  thickness.  The  iron  must  of  course 
be  not  too  hot,  and  moreover,  before  applying  it,  several 
sheets  of  paper  must  be  interposed  between  it  and  the 


294 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


paper  that  was  at  first  pasted  on  the  painting  and  which 
would  not  be  sufficient. 

When  the  lined  picture  is  judged  to  be  sufficiently  dry, 
the  white  paper  last  mentioned  is  damped,  by  passing  over 
it  a sponge  moistened  with  tepid  water.  It  soon  detaches 
itself,  and  with  it  is  removed  the  paste  that  secured  it  to 
the  picture.  All  that  remains  is  to  clean  the  painting,  and 
where  needed,  as  will  be  often  the  case,  to  restore  it. 

The  above  operation,  which  it  will  be  perceived  is  a 
very  nice  one,  will  not  of  course  be  attempted  by  the  ama- 
teur himself,  except  it  should  be  for  experiment  upon  some 
picture  of  little  worth,  for  we  assure  him  that  even  the 
practised  hands,  of  those  who  do  this  work  as  a regular 
business,  frequently  injure  what  they  were  employed  to 
preserve.  We  are  told,  by  an  experienced  observer,  that 
often  even  wffien  the  picture  is  returned  apparently  in  the 
best  condition,  smooth  and  with  its  old  defects  no  longer 
visible,  it  is  no  great  while  before  the  latter  reappear : add, 
that  the  cloths  separate  in  places,  convexities  appear,  the 
marks  of  the  folds  in  the  paper  with  which  they  were 
covered  are  conspicuous,  etc.,  while  it  is  not  rare  for  a 
dull  mouldy  stain  to  betray  the  “ badness  of  the  prepara- 
tion used,  which  shows  itself  through  the  very  varnish.’’ 
“ At  other  times,”  he  proceeds,  “ too  dry  and  hard  a paste 
renders  them  stiff  and  brittle,  and  makes  them  strain  the 
frame  until  it  bends.  Thrice  fortunate  still,  the  owner, 
if  the  workmen,  as  rash  as  skilless,  have  not  ruined  his 
pictures  by  burning  them  with  too  hot  an  iron,  by  detach, 
ing  them  in  bits  from  their  priming,  or  by  destroying  the 
glazing  through  the  mordants  which  they  use,  without  pre- 
caution,  in  order  to  remove  the  dull  yellowish  stain,  which 
is  the  necessary  result  of  an  excessive  heat  that  has  burned, 
not  only  the  varnish,  but  often  even  the  colors  themselves 


CONCLUSION. 


295 


Knowing  thus  the  mischief  that  may  be  done  by  an  in- 
competent hand,  the  amateur  is  set  upon  his  guard,  and 
will  ascertain  beforehand  whether  the  person  he  would 
employ  to  line  his  pictures  really  understands  the  busi- 
ness. 

And  here  we  think  that  we  may  pause,  with  the  general 
admonition,  to  guard  against,  as  prejudicial,  particularly  to 
new  paintings,  humidity,  and  excessive  heat,  the  direct 
rays  of  the  sun,  smoke  of  all  kinds,  foul  and  pungent 
odors,  and  lastly,  though  this  accident  is  not  the  least 
troublesome,  the  filth  deposited  by  flies.*  To  discourse  of 
all  the  injuries  to  which  oilpaintings  are  liable  in  the  lapse 
of  time,  and  of  the  various  kinds  of  disfiguration  which 
ancient  pictures  have  undergone  from  the  use  of  improper 
varnishes  and  from  the  ignorance  of  pretended  cleaners, 
and  of  the  different  modes  of  restoring  them  to  wholeness 
and  to  freshness,  would  take  many  chapters,  and  besides 
be  little  useful  to  the  young  artist  or  amateur,  who  will 
have,  in  all  probability,  no  immediate  occasion  to  know 
these  matters,  matters  too,  which  when  required  can  easily 
be  le  from  various  public  sources,  in  our  own  as  well 
as  ^••Jg.i  tong  131.  As  he  acquires  more  leisure,  he  will 
see':  x undersiand  sur.h  things,  as  a part  of  the  collateral 
know.edge  of  his  art.  And  by  that  time  he  will,  we  trust, 
be  so  enlig'ntened  in  his  tastes,  as  to  find  nothing  of  malice 
in  the  expi3C.3.'on  of  an  idea  for  whose  suggestion  we  are 
indebted  to  one  of  our  best  authorities,  and  with  which  we 
close  our  Handbook, — namely,  that  while  so  much  has 
been  prescribed  for  the  preservation  and  restoration  of 

* Prange  says,  that  the  excrement  of  spiders  is  still  worse  ; for 
its  causticity  is  such  as  to  destroy  the  color,  leaving  white  stains. 
These  are  among  the  causes,  he  adds,  that  compel  to  the  varnish- 
ing of  pictures. 


296 


HANDBOOK  OF  OILPAINTING. 


paintings,  it  would  be  quite  as  useful  if  something  could 
be  done  to  promote  their  destruction ; for  out  of  the  vast 
crowd  of  pictures  old  and  new,  that  here,  as  well  as  in 
Europe,  are  giving  mostly  a false  direction  to  public  taste, 
or  preventing  its  expansion,  ninety  out  of  every  hundred 
might  disappear  to  the  manifest  advantage  of  the  art,  while 
of  the  ten  remaining  five  are  all  the  better,  or  would  be  so, 
for  any  obscuration  that  in  rendering  thoif  characteristics 
less  obvious  should  help  also  to  veil  theii  defects. 


A COMPLETE 

AKD  TO  A CERTAIN  DEGREE  ANALYTICAX 


INDEX 


or  ALL.  THE  MATTERS  CONTAINED  IN 


THE  PRECEDING  TREATISE 


77 


INDEX  OF  MATTERS 


/iccessories,  general  manner  of  treating 
in  the  deadcoloring— pa^e  191 — ffor 
the  tints,  see  respective  heads  of  Lin- 
en, Backgrounds,  etc.) ; when  use- 
less, to  be  discarded,  190. 

Accidental  touches  of  sunlight  in  land- 
scapes, 274. 

Advantages,  to  a young  artist,  of  the 
systematic  and  detailed  arrangement 
of  the  tints  of  his  palette,  as  indicated 
(after  Courier’s  method)  in  this  vol- 
ume, 155,  167. 

After-touches  (retouches)  235  (note). 

Alcohol,  as  a solvent  of  resins,  used  by 
the  picturecleaners  for  removing  var- 
nishes : danger  of  its  application ; 
mode  of  guarding  against  it,  289, 290. 

Anatomical  detail,  not  to  be  too  exactly 
observed  in  the  neck  and  chest,  220. 

Antimony-  Yellow,  47,  51,  55. 

White,  8,  9. 

Antwerp  Blue : bad  properties,  4 (and 
note). 

Antwerp  Lake:  character,  15. 

Apelles — assumed  for  himself  the 
merit  of  knowing  when  to  leave  off, 
which  he  denied  to  Protogenes,  234. 

Arms  and  hands,  222. 

usual  faults  in  paint- 
ing, 222,  223. 

Arsenic:  its  presence  in  certain  speci- 
mens of  iN'aples  Yellow,  10,  11 ; 214 
(noti,. 

Arsenic-  Yellow.  See  Mineral  Yellow. 

White,  9. 

Asphaltum : properties  ; advantages  and 
disadvantages,  31,  88  (note). 


Asphaltum,  history  of,  86  (and  note) 
how  to  judge,  87  ; inodes  of  preparing 
for  use,  88-90. 

of  the  shops,  88  (note). 

See  also  note  on  pp.  56,  57. 

Azure,  or  Enamel  Blue,  47,  51. 


Backgrounds  (ordinary),  tints  for  the 
deadcoloring  of,  165. 

remark  on,  166 ; general 

rules  for,  189 ; color  not  to  be  too  uni- 
form, 191 ; division  into  two  distinct 
portions  of  light  and  dark  not  eligible 
for  a common  bust-portrait,  189 ; 
finishing-tints  for,  208. 

Badger-blenders,  94,  95.  See  Brushes, 
and  Blender. 

Ball  of  the  eye,  not  to  be  painted  a star- 
ing white,  184,  216. 

Balsam  Capivi.  See  Copaiba. 

Barpwell  (landscapepainter  of  time 
of  George  II.)  —his  indications  for  the 
rubbing-in  of  the  design  of  a landr 
scape,  275,276  (note). 

“ Beggars'  Ultramarine,"  38. 

Bice  (Blue  and  Green),  57. 

Bishops'  Half  lengths ; do.  W hole- 
lengths  (picturecloths),  115. 

Bismuth  ( White  of),  9. 

Bistre  (w'atercolor),  48,  53. 

Bitumen.  See  Asphaltum. 

Black  for  the  pupil  of  the  eye.  In  finish- 
ing, 32,  33. 


300 


INDEX. 


their  classification,  as  good  or  bad 

driers,  4,  5 — as  solid,  less  solid,  and 
unjized,  46,  47. 

great  vaiiety,  ^6.  (For  the  difierent 

sorts,  see  tlie  respective  heads  in  tlie 
Int'ex.) 

the  only  two  necessary,  40. 

of  the  ancients — of  the  older  mod- 
ern painters,  36  {note). 

Bladder-Oreen,  48,  53. 

Bladders  of  Colors — mode  of  punctur- 
ing, 66,  67 ; of  keeping,  when  in 
quantity,  68. 

Blanc  d'argent  (Silver  White),  2. 

Bleaching  of  oils,  of  very  questionable 
advantage,  71. 

Blender  (the  tool  of  fitchet  or  of  badger 
hair  so  called),  94,95;  peculiar  use 
(which  is  not  to  be  carried  to  excess, 
and  never  is  by  skilful  painters),  94, 
181  ; those  of  badger-hair  may  be 
dispensed  with  altogether,  182;  pe- 
culiar mode  of  cleaning,  97. 

Blending  the  tints : how  managed,  180, 
181. 

Blue-Jlshes  : nature  and  character,  50, 
51,  55.  See  Cendre  bleue. 

Blue  Bice.  See  Bice. 

Blue-Black.  See  Vine-Black  (which  is 
the  ordinary  kind),  also  Coffee-Black, 
Cork-Black,  Paper-Black,  Prussian 
Black,  and  Peach-Black  (which  last 
has  somewhat  of  a violet  shade). 

Blue  cloth,  manner  of  painting  ;— in  the 
deadcolor,  254 — in  the  finishing,  256. 

Blue  Ochre,  20  [note). 

Blues : 

■ classified  as  drters,  3 — by  degrees 
of  solidity,  46,  47.  (The  various  sorts 
will  be  found  under  their  respective 
heads  in  this  Index.) 

two  only  necessary,  27. 

of  copper:  all  dangerous,  55. 

for  draperies,  254,  {note). 

Blue  Verditer,  57. 

Body  White  (Flake  White),  2. 

Bone  Black  : not  to  be  recommended, 
39. 


Bosom  or  breasts,  see  Chest. 

Box  for  burning  colors,  63. 

Box,  the  artist’s,  for  oilcolors,  96;  a 
simpler  kind  more  portable,  and  used 
in  sketching  from  nature,  118  {note)- 

Breasts,  delineation  and  painting  of  the, 

221. 

Brown  of  Prussian  Blue : 

history,  29. 

differs  in  shade 

according  to  the  calcination,  and  tc 
the  Blue  itself,  29. 

excellence  as 

a diaphanous  color ; and  other  ad- 
vantages, 30. 

useful  in  the 

composition  of  warm  broken-greens 
for  the  second-painting,  in  landscapes, 
273. 

mode  of  mak- 
ing, 59. 

known  also 

as  Brown  of  Iron,  53  {note). 

Jl  second  kind 

(orange-red)  properties  and  advanta- 
ges, 30,  31 ; mode  of  making,  61 

Brown  Ochre,  pioperties  and  uses,  11, 

12. 

Brown-Red : nature,  properties,  and 
uses,  16,  17. 

Browns  : 

classified  as  driers,  4, — as  solid 

or  otherwise,  46-48.  (Varieties,  under 
their  respective  names  in  the  Index.) 

Brunswick  Green,  53. 

Brushes  : the  different  kinds,  and  how 
to  choose  them,  93  and  286 — how  to 
clean  them,  9^98  and  286 — to  pre- 
serve them  from  moths,  99-101  (and 
note) — to  prevent  the  hairs  from  com- 
ing out,  101. 

Burnt  Carmine:  qualities  and  uses,  20, 
21,  caution  in  use  of,  21,  mode  of 
making,  65. 

Burnt  Lake,  of  cochineal,  (s.tme  head 
as  Bt.  Carmine). 

Burnt  Verdigris,  44. 

Business,  the,  of  the  artist,  is  to  repre- 
sent, not  what  is,  but  what  appears 
233. 


INDEX. 


301 


Cadmium — its  yellow  Sulphiiret,  51 
{note). 

Calking : its  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages, 169. 

three  methods  of,  170. 

Canvas  for  pictures,  114. 

cant  names  for  certain  established 

dimensions  of,  114,  115. 

mode  of  stretching,  115. 

smoothing  and  washing  of,  pre- 
viously to  using,  IIG 

advice  for  choice  of,  115,  116. 

tint  of  preparation  for,  116  (also 

277). 

doubled,  116.  See  Lining. 

rolling  of,  for  transportation,  117. 

cost  of  a three-quarters,  119. 

Carmine  (of  cochineal)  worthless  as 
an  oilcolor,  48,  55,  119  {note). 

Carmine  of  cochineal,  and  Lake  of 
cochineal : their  calcination.  See 
Burnt  Carmine. 

Carmine  of  Madder,  45,  49. 

Carnations.  See  Fleshtints. 

Carpet  for  the  study  (not  advisable), 
135.  See  Floor. 

Caruncula  lachrymalis,  160  {note). 

Cassel  Earth  : power ; peculiar  uses ; 
to  be  reserved  for  the  last  painting; 
disadvantages,  etc.,  31-33— supposed 
want  of  solidity,  33  (see  also  56, 
where  it  is  noticed  as  solid). 
not  to  be  used  for  eye- 
brows, 218. 

the  brown,  in  all  proba- 
bility, used  by  Vandyck,  33. 

Cassius,  Purple  or  Precipitate  of  Gold, 
of,  49. 

Cast  of  draperies,  247-249. 

Cendre  Bleue.  See  Blue  .^shes. 

another  kind,  native,  51 

{note). 

Cennini  {Cenninofs  mode  of  preserv- 
ing the  hair  of  pencils  from  moths, 
101. 

Ceruse,  2,  47,  50. 

Chair,  sometimes  a substitute  for  the 
rest-stick,  104. 

Chalk-  Whites,  47,  50. 


Change,  in  the  coloring  of  a pitture, 
in  some  degree  to  be  ascribed  t«  (Ji« 
negligence  of  the  colormakers,  62,  bu 
much  more  to  the  want  of  tact  or 
care  in  the  artist,  62. 

Chest,  and  bosom  or  breasts,  in  th« 
second-painting,  221. 

Chinese  Yellow,  57. 

Chrome-Green  (the  oxide  of  chrome), 
59  ; durability,  47,  145. 

Yellow:  dangerous:  properties, 

14 ; as  a watercolor,  15 ; want  of 
solidity,  47,  general  character,  55. 

Cinnabar:  properly,  17  (note).— See 
Vermilion. 

Clavicle,  not  to  be  too  harshly  promi- 
nent, 220. 

Cleaning  of  pictures  : the  simplest,  and 
best  mode  (where  effectual),  merely 
washing  them  with  water,  288. 

Cleansing-fluid  {eau  h nettoyer)  of  the 
picturedeulers,  290. 

Clouds,  266. 

Cobalt-Blue.  See  Thenard's  Blue. 

Green:  excellence,  47,  50,  55  ( 

the  verde  azzurro  of  Cennini,  50. 

Coffee-black : qualities  and  advantages, 
37. 

mode  of  making,  61 ; and 

how  to  wash  it,  61,  62. 

Coffee- Greens  (known  as  Venetian  and 
Emerald  Green)  fugacious  colors. 


Colcothar,  50. 

Cologne  Earth:  character  as  a color: 
danger  of  its  use;  exemplification  of 
its  fugacious  nature,  33,  34. 

when  burnt,  gains  a 

little  more  fixedness,  47. 

Colorist,  the,  is  bom,  not  made  such ; 
the  eye  in  him  being  what  the  ear  is 
to  the  musician,  155  (and  note). 

Colors  : general  advice  as  to  the  laying- 
on  of,  in  painting,  149. 

of  the  palette : mode  of  keeping 

fresh,  68,  69. 

Composite  Black,  47,  50. 

Brown : what  1 34  ; uses  aiMl 

varieties,  34,  35. 


302 


INDEX. 


(:*m.fesiluns  in  landscapepainting. 
landscape. 

ConU-crayons.  See  Crayons. 

Co-Kiour  of  the  visage : caution  with  re- 
gard to  its  management,  231. 

Ccnti-adictioTi  among  writers  as  to  the 
materials  of  the  art,  and  especially 
colors.,  35,  also  41.  (See  too  the  latter 
part  of  note  to  p.  13). 

Conversetion  with  the  individual-model 
(in  ponraitpainting),  228. 

Copaiba,  used  in  preparing  glazes  of 
verdigris,  43 ; as  a guard  against  the 
too  corrosive  character  of  spirituous 
detergents  in  picturecleaning,  290. 

Cork-Black : character  and  excellence, 
38. 

inode  of  making,  63. 

Correggio  : his  impasto  not  owing  to 
his  materials  but  to  his  skill  and 
native  tact  in  using  them,  81. 

Cost  of  a set  of  materials  for  oil  paint- 
ing. 118,  119. 

Crayons  : kinds,  and  mode  of  pointing, 
119  (note). 

Crystals  of  Verdigris.  See  Distilled 
Verdigris. 

Crusts  (of  color! ; 144. 

CuHain,  the  ordinary  one  of  the  paint- 
er’s window,  should  have  the  upper 
edge  faced  with  white,  133,  134. 

■ for  procuring  artificial  reflec- 

tions, 130  (note). 


Da  Vinci’s  method  of  deadcoloring, 
195  : useful  notions  for  the  student  in 
landscape,  to  he  found  in  his  treatise 
or  collection  of  maxims,  268. 

Deadcoloring : 

of  carnations,  or  the 

Jr'irst-painting  of  the  flesh;  method 
of  composing  and  selling  the  palette 
for,  156-163;  additions  to,  for  the 
parts  of  linen,  hair,  etc.,  that  touch, 
164,  165;  advantages,  to  the  young 
artist,  of  this  detailed  palette,  167. 

process  of,  172-174. 


Deadcoloring  : process  of,  exemplified, 
176,  177. 

distributed  (intoday’a- 

work),  187. 

of  background  and  acces- 
sories, 189-191. 

of  draperies,  to  be  freely 

painted,  without  detail,  255.  See 
Draperies. 

De  Burtin  (connoisseur) : extract  from 
his  treatise,  149. 

Defects  of  skin,  not  to  be  particular- 
ized, 224,225;  or,  if  characteristic,  to 
be  softened  down  or  extenuated,  5^25. 

Degradation.  See  Gradation. 

Demitints,  of  a bluish,  greenish,  or 
violaceous  cast,  to  be  sparingly  used, 
230. 

Dennkr  Balthazar)— his  peculiar 
talent  for  minute  detail  alluded  to, 
233  (and  note). 

Details — excessive  particularity  in  the 
representation  of,  231-233 ; the  great 
mistake  of  amateurs  and  beginners, 
231 ; not  usually  the  fault  of  an 
unapt  disposition,  but  rather  the  con- 
trary, 232;  what  sort  of  persons  most 
likely  to  fall  into  it,  and  therefore  to 
be  most  cautious  to  avoid  it,  232. 

Details  of  light  and  transparent 
stuffs,  in  draperies,  253. 

Detergents,  spirituous,  used  by  picture- 
cleaners,  296. 

Distance,  in  general,  for  the  model  or 
sitter,  as  respects  the  seat  of  the 
painter,  124,  125. 

Distances,  in  landscapes,  267. 

to  be  treated  broadly  and 

vaguely,  267. 

colors  of,  265,  267  274. 

Distemper-painting — the  size,  or  gluten 
used  in,  130  [note). 

Distilled  Verdigris : uses : mode  of 
application,  42;  not  ranked  in  the 
class  of  solid  colors,  48. 

^ to  be  employed 

but  rarely,  and  why:  cautions  in  the 
use,  43. 

another  method 

of  applying,  with  safety,  44. 

Da  Vinci’s  me- 


thod, 44  note). 


INDEX. 


303 


Diitribution  of  the  First-paintinff,  into 
five  days’  work,  187 ; of  the  Second- 
painting,  into  three  days’  work,  235. 

Division  of  the  human  body,  by  its  prin- 
cipal articulations  (to  serve  as  a 
guide  in  the  construction  of  a manne- 
kin),  110. 

Doubts  of  the  student,  caused  by  the 
want  of  consistency  in  writers  on  the 
art,  35.  (See,  as  one  exemplification 
of  the  remark,  note  on  pp.  12,  13.) 

Down  of  the  Skin,  a material  cause  of 
the  variety  of  broken-tints  in  carna- 
tions, 177. 

Draperies,  243-259. 

material  of,  in  general,  243. 

color  of,  in  reference  to  the 

complexion,  and  time  of  life,  of  the 
model,  245,  246. 

cast  or  adjustment  of,  247- 

249. 

use  of  mannekin  for,  247. 

rules  for  the  proper  adjust- 
ment of,  248,  249. 

material  of,  how  character- 
ized ; where  of  a close  texture,  250, 
251 ; where  transparent,  252,  253. 

of  blue  cloth  : First-painting, 

254,  255.  Second  do.  256,  257. 

General  rule  for  the  second- 
painting  of  any  drapery,  257, 
Flying-draperies,  258. 

Drying  : of  the  First-painting,  192 ; 
how  to  ascertain  when  it  is  completed, 
193. 

of  the  finished  picture,  281. 

Drying-oil : how  to  be  used,  according 
to  the  specific  occasion,  5,  74. 

• when  not  to  be  used,  6, 

composition  of,  and  general 

directions  with  regard  to  use,  73,  74. 
Orandi's  Drying-oil,  75. 

TVhite  drying-oils,  7^78. 

Durer  (./3/ftert)’s  division  of  the  human 
body,  110,  111. 


Earth-black.  See  Russian  Black,  and 
Fossil  blacks. 

Easels,  103 ; cost  of  an  ordinary  one, 
together  with  a rest-stick,  119. 


Eau  depurative  or  /’  eau  a nettoyor  (pu- 
rifying, detergent,  or  cleansing  wa'Jir 
or  fluid)  of  the  picturecleaners.  Sae 
Detergent. 

Edges  of  parts  that  touch  the  fUsh  (as 
ringlets  of  hair,  linen,  etc.),  to  be 
painted  with  the  carnations,  163, 136; 
185,  186;  207,  209. 

Effect,  general,  of  the  picture  made  out 
by  a preparatory  wash  as  it  were  of 
oilcolor  : 

in  the  case  of  a head,  172 ; the 

method  this  of  Rubens,  and  others, 
195. 

in  landscapes,  275,  276  (and  note) 

Embroideries,  243. 

Embu  (Fr.)  140, 

Emerald  Green,  57. 

another  kind.  See 

Coffee- Greens. 

Enamel-Blue.  See  Azure. 

Enforcing- touches  of  the  deadcoloring, 
183-185. 

English  Red : character  ; uses ; disad 
vantages,  22,  47,  50. 

English  Varnish,  80. 

Essences.  See  Volatile-oils. 

Eyebrows,  217,  218  : irregular,  ana 
shaggy,  or  of  old  men,  217. 

bituminous  browns  not  to  be 

used  in  painting,  218. 

Eyelashes,  to  be  painted  with  softness, 
185 ; 216,  217. 

Eyes — fault,  with  beginners,  in  painting 
the,  184.  See  Ball. 

pupil  of  the.  See  Pupil. 

Excessive  labor,  apt  to  injure  a work' 
there  is  a merit  in  knowing  when  to 
leave  off,  234. 

Excrements  of  insects,  injurious  to  pic 
tures,  295  (and  note). 

Expression,  the  life  of  the  resemblance 
in  a portrait : hints  as  to  the  node 
of  marking,  226-229. 


304 


INDEX. 


Fidelity  of  resemblance.  See  Resem- 
blance. 

Field  (Mr.)’s  Chromatics  : a valuable 
book  to  the  higher  class  of  student- 
painters,  or  to  the  experienced  artist, 
215  (jiote). 

— colors,  22  (note). 

Fingers.  See  Hands. 

Finishing-palette.  See  Second- Paint- 
ing. 

Finishing-touches  of  the  Deadcoloring, 
183-180;  to  be  made  with  freedom 
and  spirit,  183,  186. 

First- Painting ) a j , • 

First-Palette  S Deadcoloring. 

Fitches  : nature  and  quality,  94 ; used 
as  blenders,  94,  and  varnishers,  95 ; 
name  with  the  French,  95.  See 
Brushes. 

Flake  White,  2. 

Flanders  Varnish,  80. 

Flattered  Likenesses.  See  Likenesses, 
and  Resemblance. 

Fleshtints  (for  the  first  coloring)  : 

luminous,  158,  159. 

broken,  159,  seq. 

feebler  shades  of,  162. 

Shade- tints  for  flesh  in  the 
first  coloring,  163. 

Fleshtints  (for finishing) 

luminous,  200,  201. 

broken,  202. 

feebler  shades  of  do.  or  vari  - 

ously  broken  demitints,  203,  204. 

true  shadows  of,  205. 

reflexes  of,  205. 

Deeper  parts  of  the  shadows, 
and  most  vigorous  and  warmest 
touches,  206,  207.  See  Deadcoloring, 
and  Second  Painting. 

Floor,  of  the  study,  much  better  painted 
than  carpeted,  135,  136. 

Florentine  Lake,  20  (note). 

Flying-Draperies,  258;  only  suitable 
for  certain  light,  airy,  and  juvenile 
figures,  259. 

Folds  of  draperies,  in  general,  248,  249 
falso  note  to  p.  269) ; as  indicative  of 
the  Htiiff,  250. 


Fossil  blacks  of  the  ancients,  39  (not*). 

Fra  Bartolomro'i  method  of  dead 
coloring,  195. 

Frames  for  picturecloths,  115. 

Fusion  of  tints;  how  brought  about 
See  Blending. 


Qaude-Lake.  See  Weld. 

Gauzes,  crapes,  and  other  transparent 
stuffs.  See  Transparent  Draperies. 

German  Black  (of  wine-lees),  40. 

Giallolino  (Naples  Yellow,  with  the 
Italians),  11. 

Glair,  varnish  of.  See  White  of  Eggs 

Glazing : ■wYint'i  137;  its  advantages 
and  disadvantages,  138,  148;  to  be 
always  adopted  with  caution,  148 

pigments  used  in,  145,  some 

times  opaque,  137. 

Composition  of  a brown  glaze, 
of  different  degrees  of  intensity,  34,  35. 

Observations  on  and  di 
rections  for  glazing,  146-148. 

Best  time  for,  146. 

Glazing  on  solid  color,  147. 

Method  of,removing  a glaze 
when  faulty,  147,  148. 

Glue  (of  glovers-leather  or  of  parch 
ment)  for  distemper-painting.  Coo- 
per's White  Glue,  a convenient  and 
complete  substitute,  130  (note). 

Gradation  of  color  : 

a practical  mode  of  ascer 

taining,  on  the  palette,  each  tone  in 
the  scale  of,  174. 

Exemplification  of  the  mode 
of  operating  in  the  observation  of  thii 
scale  of  tones,  176. 

Grayish  and  opaque  tints  to  be  avoided 
in  the  shadows  of  the  second-paint' 
ing,  230. 

Green  Bice.  See  Bice. 

Green  Earth.  See  Terra  Verde. 

Greens  : 

permanent,  47 ; less  so,  47  J 


INDEX. 


changeable.,  48.  (See  the  different 
sorts  under  their  respective  names.) 

• broken,  of  landscapes;  grayish, 

brownish,  etc.,  273,274  ; of  the  distant 
parts  of  do.,  that  partake  of  an  aerial 
tone,  274. 

Green  soap,  use  of  for  pencils,  98. 

Green  Verditer,  57. 

Grinding  of  colors:  in  oil,  106,  107 ; in 
water,  107,  108. 

Grounds  of  subjectiles : sometimes 
chosen  of  too  dark  a tint  by  the  old 
painters ; the  consequence,  277.  See 
Tint  of  preparation  (under  Canvas). 

Gurntion  (a  composite  oil  vehicle,  or 
painter’s  nostrum),  79. 


Hair,  deadcoloring  for,  in  general,  164, 
167,  to  be  treated  broadly,  without 
details,  191. 

Half-lengths  (picturecloths),  114. 

Hands : generally  painted  without 
much  reference  to  the  model ; oppo- 
site faults  of  painters  in  the  execu- 
tion ; anecdote  of  an  example  of 
hard  fingers,  222,  223. 

Heat,  excessive,  to  be  avoided  for  new 
pictures,  295. 

Horizons,  tints  of,  and  manner  of  blend- 
ing them  with  the  upper  sky,  265. 

Human  body,  division  of  the,  by  the 
principal  articulations,  according  to 
the  system  of  Albert  Durcr,  110,  111. 

Humidity  an  injury  to  paintings,  295. 

Hungary  Green.  See  Mountain- Green. 

Hydrocyanate  of  copper,  48,  53. 


tmpasting, or  painting  with  thick  color: 
general  rule  for,  143;  advantage  of, 
in  certain  parts  of  landscapes,  144. 

Incarnate  of  the  cheeks,  the,  not  to  be 
spread  too  uniformly,  231. 


305 

Inconsistency  of  artis  -authors.  See 
Contradiction. 

Indian  Lake,  20  {note). 

Indian  Red,  23 

Indian  Yellow : qualities  and  uses,  19- 
14;  choice  of,  13;  caution  in  use,  13; 
character  for  solidity,  and  discrepance 
of  authorities  on  this  point,  12  {note), 
45,  55;  origin,  12  (note). 

Indigo : not  to  be  used,  3. 

Injuries  of  pictures,  and  the  modes  ol 
reparation,  291-294.  See  Reparation. 

Iris- Green,  48,  53. 

Iron-Brown,  or  Brown  of  Prussian 
Blue  (which  see). 

Italian  Earth  (Burnt)  : nature ; objec 
lion,  3;  solidity  (raw),  46  (burnt),  45. 

Italian  Varnish,  79. 

Ivory  Black : character ; disadvantages, 
36  ; used  by  Apelles,  36  {note). 


Keeping  prepared  colors,  method  of, 
when  in  quantities,  68,  and  on  the 
palette,  68,  69. 

Kings'  Yellow,  57. 

Kitkat  (pictured  oth),  114. 

Krems  White.  See  Silver  do. 


Lac-varnish  (white),  91  {note). 

Lairksse  (Gerard  de)  treatise  of,  re- 
commended to  the  student  (by  Bou- 
vier)  as  a guide  in  the  choice  of  color 
for  draperies,  in  pieces  of  invention 
246. 

Lakey  or  Sanguine  tones,  in  certain 
shadows  of  the  flesh,  230. 

Lampblack  : the  two  sorts : discrepp-ws 
of  authorities,  with  regard  to  40,  41 
(and  note). 


206 


INDEX. 


r.t',ncjt.'.}'c  pcintivi",  263-2V6. 

and  preliminary  ad- 
vice, 263,  264. 

Comrositinns  ■ their  frequent 
violations  of  piopiltity,  204. 

Color  of  the  pr.iiiiiig  for  land- 
Bcapes,  271. 

Preparatory  giaze,  to  give 
warmth  of  tone.  270  land 

(For  particular  parts  of  Laiiil- 
Bcapes,  see  tlie  proper  heads,  as  Skies, 
Distances,  Clouds,  etc.) 

Lavender,  essential-oil  of,  84. 

Layfgure.  See  Mannekin 

Laiying-on  of  the  colors,  considered  as  a 
whole,  14y. 

Leafing  of  trees,  209,  270. 

Lebrun  ; his  grounds.  See  Poussin. 

Lemon  Yellow,  9 {note). 

Likenesses : staring.  228. 

flatter])  in.  or  rather  embel- 
lishment, to  a certain  degree  essential, 
227,  229.  See  Resemblance. 

Light,  nearly  perpendicular ; the  pro- 
per one  in  general  for  the  model,  120. 
The  student  is  not  to  miscalculate  the 
effect  of  his  light,  128. 

peculiar,  for  certain  piquant 

effects,  133,  134 : this,  not  suitable  for 
youth, 134. 

Light  Draperies.  See  Transparent. 

Light-Red : nature  and  properties,  16 

Lights,  reflected.  See  Reflections. 

ZAnen  : 

deadcoloring  for,  164,  with  ob- 
servations, 166. 

• second-painting,  208. 

JJning  of  pictures,  292,  293. 

Linseed-oil,  70-72. 

JAps,  deadcoloring  of  the:  tints  for, 
id8-150;  enforcing-touches,  184,  185. 

List  of  colirs : 

of  approved  excellence; 

with  their  character  as  good  or  bad 
driers,  1-5. 

classified  according  to 

tktir  degrzeo  of  fixedness  or  perma- 
ncnct,  46-48. 


Jflst  of  colors  : diaphanous,  for  g nzing 
145. 

-• simple,  used  for  the 

combinations  of  the  first-painting, 
156,  1.57 ; for  those  of  the  second  or 
finishing  199. 

Location  for  the  artist's  study,  the 
best,  126. 

Lomazzo  (Paul)  assimilates  the  folds 
of  drapery,  in  their  general  disposi- 
tion and  mutual  dependence,  to  the 
branches  and  boughs  of  trees,  269 
{note). 

Lookingglass.  See  Mirror. 


Madder- I.akes  : general  description 
19,  55  ; mode  of  using,  19,  20. 

Yellow,  13  (note),  15. 

Purple.  See  Purple 

Macgilp,  Magelp,  Magilp,  or  Magutlp 
(as  it  is  variously  written),  79. 

Mannekin  {layman ; layfigure) : what  ? 
109;  how  used,  109,  110;  247;  may 
be  dispensed  with  for  an  ordinary 
bust-portrait,  248  {note).  How  to 
make  a kind  mure  economical,  110 
112. 

Mars  (Yellow,  Brown,  Violet,  etc.)  • 
nature  and  character  of  this  class  of 
colors,  49,  54. 

Massicot : nature,  kinds,  character,  an 
liquity  of  its  usage,  etc.,  47,  52,  55 

Mastic  (the  resin),  91. 

varnish.  See  Varnishes. 

price  of,  at  the  color- 

shops,  118  {note). 

Mastoid  muscle, — w'hose  origin,  inser- 
tion, and  uses,  being  necessary  to  be 
known  for  the  execution  even  of  a 
simple  head,  are  given  in  the  Hand 
book,  220  (and  note). 

Matting  for  the  study  (objectionable), 
135.  See  Floor. 

Maulstick.  See  Rest-stick. 

Meadows:  greens  for,  where  remote, 
274. 


INDEX. 


30'^ 


Miasms,  injurious  to  pictiues,  221 

Mineral  Blue,  47,  50.  See  Antwerp 
Blue. 

Yellow  ; character,  14,  47,  .'>1 ; 

nature,  51.  See  Patent  Yellow, 
(which  is  the  same  thing). 

other  kinds,  51.  (The 

name  has  also  been  given  to  Yellow 
Ochre;  though  properly  enough  on 
one  account,  yet  unadvisably  because 
of  the  confusion  which  thus  arises 
in  chromatic  nomenclature.) 

Minium  (redlead),  a bad  pigment,  52, 


Mirror,  use  of,  238,  239. 

Moths  : sure  method  to  prevent  their 
attacks  upon  reserved  brushes,  99; 
Cennini’s  method,  101 ; another  mode 
suggested,  101  {note). 

Mountain- Green,  48,  53. 

Mouth.  See  Lips. 

Moveable  screens : construction  and 
use  of,  129-131. 

Mullers : their  proper  form,  106  ; mo- 
tion given  to,  in  braying  colors,  106, 
107;  manner  of  cleansing,  107. 

Mummy,  or  Mummy- Brown,  (also 
Bgyptian  Brown)  : opinions  for  and 
against,  56  and  57  {note). 

Music : its  analogy  with  painting,  inci- 
dentally mentioned,  215  {note). 


Maples  Yellow:  nature,  properties,  dis- 
advantages, etc.,  9-11 ; 47,  54. 

rendered  frequently 

dangerous  by  having  arsenic  in  com- 
bination, 10,  11  (and  note)  ; 214 
{note). 

use  of,  in  reflections, 

214. 

the  giallolino  and  gial- 

lorino  of  Italian  writers,  11. 

Meek  : how  to  be  painted, 

in  a fine  model,  219. 

• ■ ' in  a meagre  person,  220. 

Morth,  the  true  ejposure  for  an  artist's 
study,  127,  I'liis  opinion  of  the  ma- 
jority controverted,  127.  (See  Study, 


for  reference  to  the  me'uis  of  coin 
teracting  the  effect  of  rri  ut.favorable 
exposure.) 

Mostrils : treatment,  in  first-paintinc, 
184,  185. 

Mut-oil,  70,  72,  72. 

mode  of  adding  to  its  desiccativ* 

property,  77. 


Ocre  de  rue  (formerly,  rut),  12.  Sec 
Brown  Ochre. 

Oglio  cotto.  See  Oils. 

Oils : 

fixed,  used  with  colors,  70-72 ; 

comparison  of  their  respective  pro- 
perties, 71,  72.  See  Poppy,  Mut, 
Linseed. 

essential  or  volatile,  83-85. 

Oil  baked  with  litharge  {oglio 
cotto),  80.  Oil  of  cottonseed,  72. 

Open  air,  practice  substituted  for,  where 
the  effect  is  desired  in  a portrait 
painted  in  a close  study,  131. 

Orange: — the  permanent,  less  solid, 
and  little  solid  colors  of  this  class, 
46-43. 

Orpiments : character,  15,  47,  55; 
names,  kinds,  properties,  etc.,  51. 
Sir  J.  Reynolds’  erroneous  use  of, 
51  {note). 


Palettes,  102;  modes  of  dressing  them, 
102;  observations  on  their  use,  103. 
Palette-cup,  74. 

knife.  See  Spatula. 

Panels,  113, 114. 

Paper-black:  excellence;  objections, 
from  the  tediousness  of  its  prep£.ra- 
tion,  37, 

Parent-colors,  used  in  the  compesitio.! 
of  the  first-palette,  156,  157;  of  the 
finishing-palette,  193, 

Pasteboard,  for  oilpainting,  ii3 

Patent-  Yellow,  57.  Sec  Miner:  al  Yilew 


308 


INDEX. 


Ptach-Black  (or  rather,  Peachstone- 
Black) . violaceous;  superfluous,  39; 
objection  to,  by  an  eminent  writer,  40. 

Pencils.  See  Brushes. 

Permanence  of  the  different  oilcolors, 
according  to  the  best  general  opinion, 
54-57. 

Permanent  Blue,  27  (note). 

Persian  Red  (Indian  Red),  23. 

Picture-cloths,  113;  usual  sizes,  with 
their  cant  names,  114.  See  Canvas. 

Pinks  (Dutch  Pink,  Brown  Pink, 
etc.)  ; general  character,  15,  47,  52, 
55,  56 ; nature,  52. 

Platina  Yellow,  15. 

Plush,  250. 

Poppy-oil,  70 ; methods  of  bleaching 
and  rendering  it  more  drying,  76-78; 
thus  prepared  is  suitable  for  retouch- 
ing, 235  (note) — price  of  ordinary,  at 
the  shops,  118. 

Porphrjry,  105. 

Portraits,  representing  the  individual- 
model  as  in  the  open  air,  how  man- 
aged (though  imperfectly),  in  the  close 
study,  130,  131. 

Poussin  and  Lebrun  : the  dark 
grounds  of  their  subjcctiles  have 
come  forward  through  their  colors, 
277. 

Prangk’s  observations  on  egg-varnish, 
283,  284. 

Preparation  for  landscapes,  where  the 
ground  of  the  subjectile  is  white  or 
light-gray,  275,  276. 

Preparations  (a  species  of  glaze  for 
parts  that  need  repainting),  140-142. 

Prepared  colors,  66-69. 

prepared  paper,  for  oil  painting,  113. 

Priming  of  canvas,  colors  for  the,  116, 
271,  275-277. 

P7  3TOOENKS,  oTcr-careful,  in  the 
j*id£nientof  Apelies.  SeeAfELLES. 

Prussian  Black:  excellence;  peculiar 


property  ns  a quick  drier,  38 ; methot 
of  making,  60. 

Prussian  Blue:  character;  uses;  dis 
advantages,  25,  47,  55  ; dries  admira 
bly,  193  (note).  Its  calcination* 
See  Brown  of  Prussian  Blue,  ant 
Prussian  Black. 

J^Tative  prussian-blue,21  (note). 

Prussian  Red,  23 ; 47,  50. 

Pupil  of  the  eye,  best  composite  blacl 
for  finishing  the,  32:  directions  foi 
painting,  216. 

Purple,  or  Precipitate  of  Gold,  of 
Cassius,  46,  49 ; of  Madder,  or 
Field's  Purple,  or  Purple  Rubiate,  22 
(note). 


Rectification  of  the  sketch  with  the 
hair-pencil,  previously  to  painting, 
171. 

Redlead.  See  Minium. 

Reds : classification  by  their  desiccative 
properties,  3 ; by  their  degrees  of  so- 
lidity, 46-48.  (The  varieties  are 
under  their  proper  heads  in  the 
Index.) 

Reflections,  ordinary,  of  the  painter's 
study,  how  modified,  129,  130  (with 
note^y,  from  without  (as  from  walls  of 
houses,  etc.),  how  ezeluded,  131,  132. 

Reflections  or  Reflexes,  in  carnations  ; 
tints  for,  and  mode  of  managing, 
179, 214:— m colored  stuffs,  179 
(note). 

Rembrandt’s  crusts  of  color,  143  (and 
note). 

Repainting.  See  Second-painting. 

Reparation  of  pictures  : 

where  the  canvas  has  been 

forced  in  or  pressed  out,  291. 

where  the  canvas  is  broken, 

etc.,  291,  292. 

where  the  color  is  detached 

in  places,  291. 

where  the  canvas  needs 

doubling  or  lining,  292-294. 

Resemblance,  fidelity  of : general  rules 
for  securing,  where  the  talent  is  not 
wanting,  226. 


INDEX 


309 


h t stick,  104.  See  Chair. 

R»tnolds  (Sir  J.),  his  skill  as  a color- 
int  not  deteriorated  by  the  futility  of 
many  of  his  experiments,  as  it  could 
not  be  bettered  by  the  success  of  the 
haopiest  of  them,  81. 

Retouching : 

preparation  for,  140. 

varnishes  for,  140  {note). 

See  also  note  to  p.  235 

Roman  Lake,  20  {note). 

Roman  Gchre,  12. 

Room,  artist’s.  See  Study. 

Rosemary,  essential  oil  of,  84. 

Roundness  of  parts ; on  what  depend- 
ent for  its  true  delineation,  213, 231. 

Roux  and  rouge,  distinguished  by  the 
French,  212  {note). 

Rubens’  maxim  for  the  general  man- 
agement of  the  colors,  195 ; his  me- 
thod of  rubbing  in  the  shadows  of  the 
design  with  a mere  wash  of  color, 
(common  with  the  Florentine  and 
Roman  schools,  and  similar  in  all 
probability  to  the  practice  of  Van 
Eyck),  195. 

Russian  Black : an  earth;  probably  of 
the  sort  used  by  the  old  frescopaint- 
ers,  39. 


Sable-pencils  : nature,  and  excellence, 
94. — See  Brushes. 

Saffron-  Yellow,  47. 

Sanders-Blue.  See  Blue  .^shes 

Sap  Oreen.  See  Bladder-green. 

Sati'T.s,  250. 

Scarlet  Lake,  20  {note). 

Scheele's  Oreen,  48, 53,  55. 

Schwcinfurt  Oreen,  53. 

Scraper,  advantage  of  a,  over  a razor 
or  knife-blade,  for  smoothing  the 
■ketch,  210. 


Scraping  and  washing  of  the  sketch. 
See  Second-painting. 

Screens.  See  Shades. 

Second-painting,  or  Finishjig-palette, 
of  the  carnations  : 

methodical  arrange- 
ment and  composition  of  the  firsts, 
199-208. 

scraping  and  washing 

of  the  sketch  or  deadcoloring,  prepara- 
tory to,  210. 

Process  of  the  second- 
painting,  for  the  head  in  general, 
212-215. 

for  the  eyes  and  parts 

connected,  216-218. 

for  the  neck,  shoulders, 

and  breast,  219-221. 

arms  and  hands,  222, 

223. 

General  observations 
and  advice,  230-234. 

The  process  of  second- 
painting  distributed  by  days,  235-237. 
Rules  for  the  suspension  and  resump- 
tion of  the  work  where  not  continu- 
ous, 236,  237. 

Second-painting  of  draperies  Cexempli- 
fied  in  one  of  dark-blue  cloth),  256. 

Shades,  for  the  artist's  window,  when 
required,  127,  128. 

for  procuring  certain  artificial 

reflections,  129-131. 

for  excluding  reflections  from 

without,  131,  132.  See  Windows. 

Shadow-side  of  draperies,  256  {note). 

Shawls  : the  borders,  and  figures,  to  be 
rendered  vaguely,  243,  244. 

Shoulders,  slope  of  the  ; colors  for,  219, 

220. 

Sienna  F.a'<-th  (raw  ) ; character  ; and 
objections,  27 

(burnt) : power ; caution 

in  use  of ; instances  where  it  may  be 
used  with  advantage,  28  ; proper  for 
the  foreparts  only  of  a picture ; pre- 
caution, 28  ; not  to  be  used  for  clouds, 
266,  287;  good  in  certain  warm 
broken-greens,  273. 

Silk,  stuffs  of,  in  draperies,  250. 

Silver  White,  1,2;  7 (and  note).  How  to 
choose  it,  when  bought  dry,  7 ; us'..al 
price  of,  prepared,  118. 

Sketch,  to  signify  the  First-painting,  ot 


310 


INDEX. 


whnt  morp  nniinlly  cnllrd  the 
Dcadcolorinff,  HO  (nnd  elsewhere). 
See  Dr.adcoloring  ir.  the  ! Jictionary 
of  Terms. 

Skies,  pure:  method  of  prtinline.  both 
in  the  dcadcoloring  .ind  fintshiiig, 
265. 

, when  grait  nnd  cloudy,  266. 

Mode  of  iip|)lying  the  colors,  267. 

Skin,  color  of,  over  bony  parts,  231. 

• defects  of.  See  Defects. 

Slabs  for  prindinsi  colors;  kinds  nnd 
sizes,  10.5;  inrule  of  n.‘■in^;  and  of 
cleaning  them,  106-108. -See  Muller. 

Smalt:  as  a drier,  3 ; nature,  26;  dis- 
Cfirdani  ojiinions  with  regard  to,  nnd 
qne.stionalile  diirahiliiy,  26,  .5i.  See 
Mzure. 

Smyrne  (Smyrntn)  Lakes,  20. 

Smoke,  injurious  to  pictures,  295. 

Smoke-black,  40,  .57. 

Softener, — otherwise  Blender,  some- 
times i'tecetcncr;  (names  given  to  a 
brush  of  titchet  or  badger  hair,  for 
imdting  the  tints  together,  etc.)  See 
Blinder. 

Spanish  Black  (Cork-bIack\  3S. 

Spatula,  108  (note).  See  also  119 
(note),  and,  for  the  price  of  an  ordi- 
nary paletteknife,  118. 

Spike,  essential  oil  of,  84. 

Spirited  touches.  See  Finishing  do. 

Spirit-varnishes — objectionable,  91. 

Stils  de  grain  of  the  French  (our 
Pinks),  15.  47,  52  (and  note),  5.5,  56. 

Stretching-f.-ame,  for  picturecloths. 
See  Frame. 

Study,  or  toc-.'kroom  of  the  painter  : its 
Gimensi«.ns,  arrangement,  location, 
light,  etc.,  124-128. 

how  best  secured  against  dust, 

135. 

Stuff  of  draperies,  how  characterized, 
5.50-253.  Paul  Lomazzo’s  eompar- 
zson  of  thetr  folds  to  the  boughs  of  a 
tree,  269  (note). 


Sutjextile : n generic  term  nbsolutrly 
m ce.-sary  in  the  art  to  ezpress  the 
material  of  whatever  nnture  used  tv 
paint  upon,  whether  the  same  bfl 
canvas,  panel,  coppcT,  pniPhoard, 
or  any  other  suhslmire,  1 13  (and  else- 
where). Consult  the  JliUionary  oj 
Terms. 

Sugar,  or  sugnreandy,  use  of  in  ogg- 
vnrni.sh,  282.  281. 

Sun's  direet  light,  touches  of,  in  land- 
scape, 274. 

danger  of  expo-ing 

llic  moist  colors  of  n new  painting 
to,  192  (note). 

Sweetener.  Sec  Softener. 


Table,  giving  the  respective  solidity  of 
the.  principal  oilcolors  according  to 
the  opinions  generally  admitu-d,  5) 
57. 

Table  for  grinding  itie  colors,  108 

Teasing  of  colors  \n  a vain  attempt  to 
blend  them,  173,  181. 

Terra  Merita,  47,  52. 

Verde  (Terre  Verte),  47,  .50; 

generally  considered  dangeroms,  55. 

Thenard's  Blue  (of  cobalt) ; objections 
to  its  use  : 26,  46,  55  (and  eiote). 

Three-quarters  (nicturecloth),  114. 

Ticking,  for  picturecloths,  116. 

Titian,  his  coloring  the  result  of  eye, 
!tnd  judgment,  and  that  spirit  of  pa- 
tient perseverance  that  is  the  insepa- 
rable companion  of  true  genius,  81. 

Tormenting.  See  Teasing. 

Transferring  of  the  design  to  the  can- 
vas. See  Calking. 

Transparent  colors,  list  of.  See  List. 

Transparent  draperies,  how  painted, 
252,  253. 

Trees : general  observations  on  the 
mode  of  rendering  the  differeal 
kinds,  269. 

deadcoloring  of.  27’,  272. 

finishing,  273,  274. 


INDEX. 


311 


Trochanters  (processes  of  the  thigh- 
bone), 111  (jiote).' 

Tvbes  for  prepared  oilcolors  : manner 
of  handling,  66. 

Turpentine,  spirit  of,  83. 


Ultramarine:  name;  character,  2.3, 
24.  Guiind’s  factitious  Ultrama- 
rine,'iA:  caution  with  regard  to  use 
of  Ultramarine,  24,  23 : rarely  em- 
ployed pure  in  carnations,  200  {note). 

Ultramarine  .^shes : nature 
and  character,  3,  and  4 (note). 

'•  Begg-ar's  Ultramarine  ” 
{Cork-Black),  38. 

Umber  : general  opinion  of  European 
artists  is  decidedly  against  it  as  un- 
or  blackening  by  age,  47,  .36. 
(An  English  authority  (Mr.  Field), 
however,  ranks  it  among  the  un- 
changeable pigments). 


Vandyck  Brown  : character  for  perma- 
nence, 48.  See  Cassel-Eartk. 

Van  Eyck’s  method,  supposed  by 
M6rim6e  to  be  the  same  with  the 
transparent  mode  of  Rubens,  195, 
196.  See  Washing. 

Vanloo  {Charles- Jin  drew,  or  Carle,  as 
he  is  usually  called)  : error  in  hia 
ghizings,  146. 

Variegated  stuffs  in  draperies,  usutilly 
in  bad  taste,  24.3. 

Varieties  in  the  mode  of  lighting  the 
model  or  sitter,  133,  134. 

Varnishes  : 

used  with  colors,  79-82; 

their  use  not  recommended,  81,  82. 

• for  retouching.  See  Re- 

touching. 

Varnish  for  pictures,  91,  28,3. 

danger  of  applying 

It  too  soon,  281  ; use  of  white  of 
eggs  as  a temporary  sub.stitute,  or 
first-varnish,  282  ; mode  of  preparing 
this,  282;  its  inconveniences,  28.3; 
how  guarded  against,  282,284;  mode 
of  removing  it  when  hardened,  284. 


Mode  of  applying  mastic  or 
picture  varnish,  285,  233. 

Mode  of  reviving  its  transpa 
rency,  in  a picture,  when  dimmed, 
286  (and  note). 

Modes  of  removing,  when  re- 
quisite, 287-290;  danger,  287,290 
See  Alcohol,  and  Yolk  of  Eggs. 

Brushes  for  varnishing  and 
mode  of  cleaning  them,  286. 

Velvets,  250,  251. 

Venetian  Green,  58. 

Venetian  Lake,  20  (and  note). 

Burnt.  See  Burnt 

Carmine. 

Venetian  Red,  23. 

Verdigris  : in  what  form  and  mode 
used  as  a pigment.  See  Distilled 
Verdigris  and  Burnt  Verdigris. 

Verditer,  57. 

Vermilion,  or  Cinnabar:  adulteration, 
17. 

native,  17,  55. 

Chinese:  compared  with  the 

European,  18. 

in  general  ; with  recom- 
mendation as  to  the  purchase  and 
use  of,  18,  19. 

Vernis  a retoucher  (retouching-var- 
nish). See  Retouching. 

Vienna  White,  2. 

Green,  53. 

Vigorous  (enforcing)  (ottcAes,  184 ; rule 
for,  in  the  deadcoloring,  184,  185. 

Vine-Black : the  most  used  of  th9 
blue  blacks,  38;  fault  Jiscribed  to  it 
by  a good  authority,  41. 

Violets : 

solid.  46  ; less  solid,  47. 

of  Mars  (or  iron),  49. 

Volatile  or  Essential  oils  : (see  each 
under  its  proper  head).  Mr.  Field’s 
opinion,  85  {note). 


Walls,  exhalation  t from,  injurious  W 
the  moist  colors  of  a fresh  paintiog 
192. 


312 


INDEX. 


Washing  in  the  shadows  of  a sketch  as 
the  first  step  in  the  dcadculuring, 
(172),  the  method  of  Jlvbena,  and  the 
chief  painters  of  the  Homan  and 
Florentine  schools.  See  Merimee's 
opinion,  196, 

Washing  of  the  deadcoloring,  previ- 
ously to  repainting,  211. 

Weld-lake  {Laqne  de  Oaude),  49; 
ranked  as  solid  by  one  French  au- 
thority, 46,  considered  doubtful  by 
others,  55. 

White  of  Eggs  (as  a varnish).  Sso 
Varnishes.  Cennino’s  prescripiio.i 
of  its  use  for  distemper-painting,  2e3 
(note). 

Whitclcad,  8;  ocsrtion  in  grinding  or 
mixing,  8;  causes  the  rapid  drying 
of  all  pigments  with  which  it  is 
combined  in  oil,  193. 

Whites,  3;  2,  7,  8,  50. 

nuliiciently  solid,  46. 

of  little  solidity,  46. 

of  lead,  only  true  mode  of 

classing,  2. 

of  antimony,  bismuth,  tin,  zinc, 

etc.,  9. 

Windows : rarely  more  than  one  used 
by  the  artist ; how  shaded.  See 
Shades.  How  to  make  use  of  both. 


on  occasions  when  n peculiar  effael 
is  desired,  134. 

Wrinkles  : where  not  absolutely  char- 
acteristic, to  be  avoided  or  but  lightly 
painted,  V25. 

best  manner  of  painting,  225. 


Yellow  I.akcs  : character,  15. 

Ochre,  1 1 , 46. 

of  Antimony.  See  Antimony- 

Yellow. 

wash,  or  Yellow-berry  wash,  53 

(note). 

Yellows  : 

classified  as  driers,  2, 3. 

by  their  degrees  of  solidity, 

45,  47.  iSee  each  kind  under  its 
proper  head  in  the  Index.) 

Yellows  that  must  not  bs 
used,  14. 

Yolk  of  Eggs,  a solvent  of  resins; 
manner  in  which  it  might  therefor* 
be  used  for  the  removing  of  a var- 
nish, 290. 


Zrnc-  WhiU  9 (and  ti^). 


4 


NEW  DICTIONARY 

EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL 

OF  SOME  OF  THE 

PRINCIPAL  TERMS  USED  IN  PAIN  I i.?*  a 

OR  THEREWITH  CONNECTED 

INCLUDING 

SUCH  PHRASES  FROM  FOREIGN  TONGUES 
AS  AT  TIMES  OCCUR 
IN  WRITERS  ON  THE  ART 

BY 


AN  AMERICAN  ARTIST 


, <1 


<lc 


EXPJAi^ATOril  km  CillTICAL  DICTIONARY 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


ACCIDENTAL  POINTS.  In  perspective-arawing 
those  vanh-hing-poinls  that  do  not  fall  on  the  horizontal  line. 
See  the  latter  term. 

ACCIDENTS.  The  term  applied  to  the  representation 
of  such  effects  in  landscape  as  may  be  supposed  to  be 
transient,  whether  of  light  or  of  shadow  ; as,  the  touches 
of  light  recommended  by  Bouvier,  in  Chapter  v..  Part  VI., 
of  the  Handbook,  or  the  partial  shade  or  shadow  caused  by 
a passing  cloud. 

ACHROIC,  ACHROMATIC,  ACHROMIC.  (Gk.) 
Wanting  color,  whether  naturally  or  by  deprivation. 

AERIAL-PERSPECTIVE — is  to  the  hue  of  objects  what 
Linear -Ferspective  is  to  their  form  ; and  as  it  is  by  the 
just  diminution  of  lines  or  surfaces  that  the  latter  enables 
us  to  judge  of  the  proper  shapes  and  dimensions  of  objects, 
and  to  calculate  their  respective  distances, — in  determining 
all  of  which  however  in  nature,  our  observation  is  guided 
by*  our  knowledge,  and  it  is  the  memory  of  what  is,  that 
directs  our  judgment  in  estimating  the  reality  of  what  ap- 


316 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


pears, — so  the  former  contributes  her  powerful  assistance 
to  the  same  effect,  by  degradation  of  color  and  by  dimi- 
nution  of  the  vivacity  of  light,  and  the  dep^h  and  dirtinot- 
ness  of  shadow  ; which  chromatic  degradation  and  eiifee- 
blement  of  the  clairobscure  are  owing  to  the  interposition 
of  atmosphere  between  the  eye  and  the  object : whence 
the  name.  Hence  the  study  of  aerial-perspective  has 
greater  advantages  in  a humid  climate  than  in  ours,  where 
the  vividness  of  distant  objects  and  the  distinctness  of  out- 
line are  generally  so  illusive. — May  it  not  be  owing  to  the 
unfavorableness,  in  this  respect,  of  a brilliant  climate, 
which  is  otherwise  so  propitious  to  true  coloring,  that  the 
primitive  painters  of  Italy,  and,  as  is  supposed,  the  Greeks, 
had  neglected  this  great  essential  to  fidelity  of  represent- 
ation ? 

^STHETICAL.  This  word,  for  whose  introduction, 
with  its  adverb  and  substantive,  into  modern  language,  we 
are  indebted  to  German  philosophy,  is  derived  directly 
from  the  Greek  aistJieticos,  Endowed  vnth  pJiyHcal  sense  ; 
having  the  faculty  of  perception  hythe  smses  ; and  also.  Ca- 
pable of  being  perceived  by  the  senses  ; affecting  the  sense : 
thus  Galen  talks  of  the  cESthetic  power,-  -or  faculty  of  physi- 
cal perception  ; and  of  cesthetic  pain,  —pain  affecting  the 
sense.  But  it  is  the  latter  or  passive  use  of  the  word  that 
alone  concerns  us.  Again,  aisthesis,  the  substantive,  is 
sense  itself,  and  the  exertion  of  the  facult3r,  or  its  affnetion 
by  external  causes ; in  fact,  sensation.  And  both  are  1 wi 
aisthanomai  the  verb,  which  implies  perception  by  ani  vf 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


317 


the  senses. — As  may  be  supposed,  for  such  is  the  natural 
course  of  language,  the  words  apply  also  to  acts  and  fac- 
ulties of  the  mind  ; but  with  their  figurative  employmer  t 
we  have  nothing  now  to  do. 

With  this  full  explication  of  the  origin  of  the  modern 
terms  custhetical,  cestlietically,  and  (Esthetics^  which  last  sig- 
nifies in  truth  the  doctrine  or  science  of  sense  in  all  its 
powers  and  relations,  but  has  come  by  force  of  application 
to  have  reference  very  generally,  if  not  always  where  not 
qualified  by  other  terms,  to  matters  of  taste,  the  student 
will  be  at  no  loss  to  comprehend  the  use  of  these  words, 
(which,  by  the  by,  had  better  be  written  in  English  without 
the  initial  a,  consistently  with  what  will  become,  if  it  is  not 
now,  the  fixed  pronunciation  of  the  first  syllable.)  They  are 
phrases  however  that  when  one  knows  their  origin  are 
easily  understood  and  applied,  though  they  are  not  readily 
explained  without  a circumlocution. 

Take  an  example.  The  ingenious  author  of  Chromatics 
thus  enters  in  his  Table  one  of  the  divisions  of  his  charm- 
ing book  : — 

Part  II.  ^STHETicAL  Chromatics. 

Chap.  IX  Harmonic  Analogy  of  Colors. — Mmic. 

X.  Graphic  Analogy  of  Colors. — Painting. 

XI.  Poetical  Analogy  of  Colors. — Poetry.” 

AIR, — as  applied  to  the  human  figure,  is  another  of  those 
words  whose  sense  is  readily  understood  by  their  appli- 
cation, but  not  so  easy  to  convey  by  equivalent  expression. 
Said  of  the  body,  it  is  nearly  csynonymous  with  carriage  , 


818  EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 

of  the  head,  it  finds  a somewhat  analogous  term,  equally 
vague,  but  not  nearly  so  significant,  in  style.  The  airs  of 
a painter’s  or  sculptor’s  heads,  I will  take  it  upon  myself 
lo  affirm — though  this  is  not  the  place  to  unfold  the  argu- 
ment by  which  I should  sustain  the  position* — are  invari- 
ably  an  indication  of  the  air  or  style  (if  the  boldness  of 
such  a phrase  may  be  pardoned)  of  the  master’s  mind. 
Let  his  hand  be  what  it  will,  that  is,  no  matter  what  the 
errors  arising  from  want  of  practice,  of  instruction,  of 
natural  dexterity,  or  of  all  three,  the  stamp  of  his  habitual 
feeling  and  habitual  thought  will  be  still  there,  conspicu- 
ous in  the  airs  of  his  heads,  ennobling  or  vulgarizing  them 
according  to  the  eidolon,  the  exemplar  or  model  in  his  own 
mind.  As  the  most  familiar  instances  will  be  best  under- 
stood by  a novice  in  the  art,  take  Michelangelo  and 
Raphael.  No  one  needs  have  read  a line  of  Dante  or  of 
Virgil,  to  whom  these  dissimilar  spirits  are  so  frequently 
compared,  to  know  at  once  what  were  the  peculiar  features 

* Could  the  student  know  with  what  difficulty  I have  obtained  a 
publisher  for  the  present  practical  treatise,  and  the  hard  terms 
on  which,  in  consequence  of  the  risk  attending  the  publication, 
I am  allowed  to  direct  his  tastes,  and  sustain  him  in  the  most 
rugged  part,  the  outset  to  wit,  of  his  arduous  career,  he  would 
conceive  the  sorrow,  the  despair  it  might  be,  with  which  I look 
forward  never  to  see  the  day  when,  in  America,  any  philosophical 
essay  on  the  art,  from  an  American  theorist,  shall  find  ten  roade-s. 
That  era  in  our  intellectual  advancement,  which  would  make  such 
an  essay  aught  but  Quixotic,  will  dawn  over  my  unnoticed  grave 
When  at  length  it  does  ascend  the  heaven,  may  its  day  be  the 
longest  in  the  calendar  of  glory  * 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


319 


of  their  individual  characters,  the  idiosyncrasies  of  tlieir 
feelings  and  imaginations.  What  sort  of  women  did 
Buonaroti  make  ? Could  the  contortions  of  the  Last  Judg- 
ment  have  made  feverish  with  the  remembered  horrors 
of  the  dissecting-table  the  sleeping-hours  of  the  gentle 
Sanzio  ? 

h'inally,  as  examples  of  the  term  air,  as  applied  to  the 
character  of  the  human  head  and  form,  take  the  Belvi- 
dere- Apollo,  the  poetic  group  of  Niobe,  the  Venus  even 
of  the  Tribune.  They  are  of  the  best  known  of  the  in- 
appreciable relics  of  ancient  art.  Go  into  Basham’s  or  to 
Gori’s ; the  casts  you  will  there  see  of  these  masterworks 
are  copies  of  copies  of  copies  from  plasterer  down  to  plas- 
terer in  a most  mechanical  series ; yet  the  airs  of  the 
heads  are  still  there.  How  is  it  that,  like  Milton’s  Satan, 
they  have  “ not  lost  all  their  original  brightness  ?”  The 
stamp  of  the  nobleness  of  the  creative  spirit  is  on  the  true 
coinage,  and  the  imperfect  impression  preserves  it,  though 
dimly,  or  it  would  not  counterfeit  at  all. 

AIR  is  also  used  in  its  literal  sense,  to  express  the  at- 
mosphere which  does  or  should  appear  to  surround  a figure 
in  painting,  so  that  the  canvas  is  forgotten,  and  the  figure 
appears  as  in  actual  space,  and  not  as  pasted  on  a flat 
ground.  The  same  expression  is  also  applied  to  a land- 
scape, though  there  the  air  can  never  be  wholly  wanting, 
its  presence  being  made  more  or  less  sensible  by  the  vari- 
ety  of  distances,  however  to  be  perfectly  represented,  and 
80  as  to  be  a marked  feature  in  the  excellence  of  the 


320 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


painting,  its  perspective  must  be  well  considered.  Se^ 
Aerial-Perspective. 

ALLEGORY.  The  personification  of  abstract  virtues, 
vices,  etc.,  may  be  easily  carried  to  excess  both  in  poetry 
and  painting  ; but  in  the  latter,  the  limit  to  its  range  is 
much  narrower,  and  the  peril  of  transgressing  that  limit 
much  more  imminent.  That  allegory  which  requires,  in 
order  to  be  understood,  a long  explanation  in  written  lan- 
guage, is  but  half  painting,  while  the  attempt  to  represent 
by  purely  inanimate  objects  a long  course  of  varied  events, 
or  to  convey  the  moral  of  perhaps  a whole  life,  is  not 
painting  at  all.  But  these  mistaken  aims,  absurd  as  they 
are,  do  not  strike  me  as  half  so  censurable,  certainly  do 
not  shock  me  near  so  much,  as  that  jumble  of  the  real 
and  unreal  which  is  seen  in  many  of  the  most  eminent  pic- 
tures ; for  the  former  are  but  fictions,  the  unmixed 
mythology,  the  Arabian  Tales  of  painting ; but  this  sins 
against  the  truth  itself,  and  does  an  outrage  to  common- 
sense. 

ALTO  RILIEVO.  See  Relief. 

AMAPvANTH.  A violet  of  which  the  red  predomi- 
nates over  the  blue,  is  the  color,  amaranth. 

AMATEUR  is  used  in  two  senses,  one  implying  a hver 
cf  the  art,  and  almost  always  a collector  of  its  fruits;  and 
ir,  this  sense,  it  is  sufficiently  dilated  on  under  Connoisseur. 
In  the  other,  it  implies  one  who  practises  in  the  art,  not 
professionally,  but  from  love  of  it,  as  is  always  understood, 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


321 


or  from  the  mere  vanity  of  being  known  to  practise  it,  as 
is  not  unfrequently  too  evident.  The  phrase  is  French  ; 
its  corresponding  term  in  Italian,  used  m the  same  senses, 
literal  and  collateral,  is  dilettante. 

ANAGLYPH.  Glypho,  anaglypho,  are  Greek  verbs 
that  express  the  action  of  the  sculptor  or  carver.  Thus 
the  phrases  hieroglyphs  and  hieroglyphics,  so  familiar  to 
everybody,  signify  merely  sacred  carvings  (hieroglyphica)  ; 
such  being  the  emblematic  images  of  the  Egyptians  on 
their  monuments.  Anaglyph  therefore  is  any  Avork  of  the 
chisel ; and  the  superb  vases  left  us  by  antiquity,  its  gems, 
etc.,  as  likewise  anything  similar  in  modern  art,  are  all 
anaglyphs.  The  adjective  for  this  elegant  word  would  be 
anaglyphic. — Triglyph  (see  Metope)  is  of  the  same  origin, 
and  signifies  a triple  carving,  sculpture,  excavation  by  the 
chisel. 

ANTIPATHY  of  colors.  As  there  are  certain  colors 
which  when  mixed  together  produce  a compound  tint  that 
is  agreeable  (and  these  are  called  Friendly ; and  a like 
satisfaction  to  the  eye  commonly  results  from  their  neigh- 
borhood), so  there  are  others  that  in  their  mechanical, 
chemical,  or  chromatic  combination  never  harmonize  ; and 
socn  are  held  as  Enemies. — Mix  Vermilion  with  ceriair. 
blues ; or  the  next  time  you  rub  Ultramarine  in  oil  on 
your  dark  wa/iogany  colorboard,  observe  the  hue  ; and  you 
will  have  an  illustration. 

ANTIQUE  STATUES.  Depiles  had  the  good  tbi 
15 


322 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


tune  to  preserve  to  the  world  two  extracts  from  Rubensf 
MS.,  on  the  Imitation  of  Statues,  which  was  destroyed  by 
fire.  He  published  them  in  his  Course  of  Fainting  by 
Principles.  In  one  of  them,  Rubens  is  made  to  say  : — 

“ Young  artists  sometimes  imagine  themselves  improved, 
when  they  have  gathered  from  statues  I know  not  what  of 
the  crude,  rugged,  difficult,  and  thorny  in  anatomy  ; but 
the  colored  marble  they  represent  for  flesh  is  a scandal  to 
nature.  There  are  many  accidents  to  be  remarked  and 
avoided,  even  in  the  best  statues  ; not  indeed  the  fault  of 
the  master,  but  arising  from  the  difference  in  their  shadows  ; 
for  in  real  life  the  flesh,  the  skin,  the  cartilage,  by  a kind 
of  transparency,  greatly  soften  the  middle-tints  and  sha- 
dows, which  the  stone,  by  its  density,  blackens,  thereby 
seeming  still  more  opaque  than  in  fact  it  is.  Add  to  this, 
that  in  nature  there  are  certain  parts  that  vary  with  every 
motion,  and  which  the  suppleness  of  the  skin  makes  either 
smooth,  or  contracted  and  wrinkled.  These  are  generally 
avoided  by  sculptors  ; but  the  best  sculptors  admit  them  ] 
and  in  painting,  used  with  moderation  they  are  necessary. 
—The  lights  too  on  marble  differ  from  those  which  are 
seen  on  flesh  ; the  shining  of  the  marble,  and  the  sharpness 
cf  the  lights,  heightening  the  superficies  beyond  the  truth, 
or  deceiving  the  eye  by  its  rapid  declinations. — The  artist 
who,  by  a wise  discretion,  guards  against  these  evils,  mty 
freely  study  the  Antique  Statues. 

AQUAREL.  {aquarelle,  Fr. ; aquarella,  lidX.)  This 
mode  of  painting  on  paper  is  performed  with  colors  so  thin 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


323 


and  transparent  that  they  are  little  more  than  tinctures ; 
the  medium  of  which  is  gumwater  ; whence  the  name. 
And  thus,  it  differs  in  no  respect  from  washing,  which,  ai 
generally  performed,  in  fact  it  is,  save  that  in  the  latter  but 
one  color  is  used,  as  histre,  sepia,  or  the  like.  The  Italians, 
however,  are  said  to  use  quite  thick  colors  to  heighten  cer- 
tain parts  in  their  aquarel,  glazing  them  over  subsequently. 
And  this  mode  has  been  of  late  years  extensively  adopted 
by  other  nations,  especially  by  the  French.  Aquarel,  or 
waterpainting,  is  carried  to  greater  perfection  in  England, 
perhaps,  than  in  any  other  country. 

AQUARELLIST,  {aquarelliste,  Fr.)  Waterpainter 
would  be  rather  too  German  for  most  tastes,  though  not 
for  propriety,  nor  to  be  good  English. 

ARABESQUE.  See  Grotesque. 

ATRAMENT  of  APELLES.  Atramentwm,  a Latin 
noun,  from  the  adjective  ater,  black,  is  the  name  which  as 
indicative  of  its  dark  color  Pliny  has  been  pleased  to  be- 
stow upon  the  varnish  of  the  famous  Coan,  being  ignorant 
doubtless  of  its  real  nature,  since  he  tells  us  that  it  was  an 
invention  of  that  master’s,  and  the  one  which  no  one 
could  imitate.  As  to  the  word  which  has  come  down  tc 
us,  for  want  of  a term  less  vague,  it  was  applied  by  the 
Romans,  just  as  we  use  Hack,  to  various  matters  whose 
special  nature  was  designated  by  an  epithet ; thus  their 
common  ink  (lampblack)  was  alramentum, — and  they  adapt- 
ed  the  same  phrase  to  the  juice  of  the  cuttlefish,  sepia 


324 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


which  was  the  ink  of  the  nations  of  Africa, — the  builders 
liad  their  atramenium,  the  cobblers  theirs,  and  finally  all 
the  blacks  used  by  painters  went  by  this  generic  name 
Thus  to  the  Latins  the  alramentum  of  Apelles  would  convey 
in  ‘phrase  the  same  notion  as  to  us  would  the  expression 
Apelles’  Black,  just  as  we  actually  use  the  terms  Rubens’ 
Brown,  Vandyck  Brown.  For  the  same  purposes,  the 
Greeks  employed  the  neuter  of  their  adjective  meZa5,  black, 
and  to  melan  was  to  them  a substantive  as  naturally  as  to 
the  various  modern  nations  of  Europe  is  their  particular 
corresponding  adjective.  And  Pliny  in  the  use  of  the 
above  term  did  probably  no  more  than  translate  the  Greek. 


B. 


BALANCE  OF  THE  PAINTERS.  Roger  Depiles 
(the  author  of  the  Cours  de  la  Peiniure  par  Principes)  pub- 
lished in  that  essay,  in  1708,  a scale  of  comparative  ex- 
cellence for  the  estimation  of  the  chief  masters  in  our  ait, 
the  which  excited  great  attention  in  his  day  and  long  after, 
and  has  been  copied  by  various  authors,  but,  as  will  be 
readily  conceived,  not  without  contesting  various  of  his 
positions.  It  will  not  be  necessary  for  the  student’s  infor- 
mation that  I should  transcribe  the  whole  (especially  as  it 
is  without  doubt  susceptible  of  amendment) ; but  I will 
give  him  a specimen,  in  the  relative  merit  assigned  to  the 
heads  of  the  Roman,  Florentine,  Venetian,  and  Flemish 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


325 


scnools.  The  maximum  No.  in  each  division  of  the  scale  is 
supposed  to  be  20,  and  unattainahle, — the  nearest  approxi. 
mation  to  perfection  being  18,  though  there  was  a 19th 
degree,  in  the  inventor’s  estimation,  which  we  might  allow 
to  human  attainment,  however  no  painter  had  yet 
reached  thereto. 


Painters. 

Composition, 

r Design, 

Coloring, 

Expression. 

Raphael 

17 

18 

12 

18 

Michelangelo 

8 

17 

4 

8 

Titian 

12 

15 

18 

6 

Rubens 

18 

13 

17 

17 

BAMBOCHADE — is  the  term,  which  after  the  Italian 
hamlocdata  the  French  apply  in  contempt  to  those  degra- 
dations of  the  art  which  are  representations  of  the  lowest, 
most  grotesque,  or  insignificant  scenes  of  ordinary  life 
and  vulgar  nature,  such  as  are  too  often  selected  at  the 
present  day  and  find  admirers,  as  we  are  told,  and  can 
readily  believe  (for  man  is  everywhere  and  at  all  times 
the  same),  they  were  admired  and  often  preferred  to  the 
noblest  compositions  in  the  antique  age.  In  fact  bambo- 
chades  are  to  the  divine  art  of  painting,  what  the  early 


326 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


error  of  Mr.  Wordsworth  in  his  idioUhoys  and  jackasses 
has  been  to  the  sister-art  of  poesy.* 

The  origin  of  the  name,  grotesque  as  the  themes  it  ridi- 

* Only  with  a tenfold  fatal  effect  in  painting;  and  for  this  rea- 
son, that,  paint  in  words  as  you  will  the  poor,  the  vulgar,  the  im- 
becile, the  ugly,  the  atmosphere  of  the  imagination  through  whicn 
they  are  seen  subdues  all  harshness  of  outline  and  breaks  their 
crudity  of  color ; they  present  in  fact — these  written  pictures, 
always,  their  objects  in  aerial-perspective ; whereas,  in  actual 
painting  by  the  pencil  and  with  real  colors,  all  the  objects  are 
placed  before  us  with  distinctness  and  in  unmistakeable  characters, 
and  the  truer  the  picture,  the  more  degrading  and  offensive.  Jeanie 
Deans  going  to  the  courthouse  with  her  old  father,  who  forgets  in 
his  agitation  his  blue  bonnet,  though  he  bears  his  customary  staff 
and  mittens  ; or  Douce  David  alone,  seated,  mending  his  cart-har- 
ness, while  Bailie  Middleburgh  stands  up  before  him ; these  are 
pictures  agreeable  enough  to  the  imagination  ; they  read  as  we  read 
the  Scottish  tongue  ; it  is  all  softened,  as  we  have  said,  through  the 
aerial-perspective  of  the  imagination.  But  paint  the  vulgarity, 
and  not  all  the  serene  soul  of  Jeanie,  nor  the  determined  bigotry  of 
her  father  can  elevate  the  picture  greatly  beyond  the  character  of  a 
hamhochade ; not  even  the  gi-ay  hairs  of  the  old  man,  as  he  walks 
uncovered;  the  unconquerable  though  overthrown  mental  agony, 
visible  in  his  mouth,  and  brows,  and  eyes,  in  the  tints  of  his  com- 
plexion and  the  manner  of  his  tread ; nothing  in  him  nor  in  the 
daughter,  that  would  annihilate  the  rudeness  and  uncouthness  of 
their  costume  or  their  common  want  of  mere  physical  beauty  ; (a) 

(a)  I have  imagined  however  an  extreme  case;  for  as  there  is  3 moral  beauty 
u well  a's  a physical  beauty,  just  as  there  are  a moral  grandeur  and  a physical 
grandeur,  a painter  highly  skilled  in  the  expression  of  mental  emotions  (another 
Eaphacl  in  short)  might  make  such  a picture  all  but  sublime,  even  in  despite  of 
U'  , w.lt>ence  of  other  poetic  requisites:  but  then  this  picture  would  happily  want 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


327 


cules,  is  said  to  have  come  from  the  subjects  selected  by 
Peter  Van  Laar,  a Dutch  painter  who  flourished  in  the 

no  more  than  would  their  most  reasonable  discourse  be  tolerable,  if 
actually  heard  by  English  ears,  instead  of  being  conveyed  to  the 
understanding  by  reading.  Paint  now  Effie, — we  will  not  sa} 
when  on  her  trial  she  put  back  her  fair  hair  from  before  her  brow, 
— but  even  as  the  Lily  of  St.  Leonardos,  with  her  milkpail  on  her 
head,  and  the  picture  pleases,  simply  because  of  her  beauty, — the 
beauty  of  mere  form  being  always  more  for  the  eye  than  {without 
it)  the  very  best  moral  expression  that  the  ethographic  Raphael 
himself  could  make  predominant  (even  with  the  exaggeration  that 
that  noble  painter  sometimes  fell  into)  in  the  eyes,  or  on  the  brows 
o”  lips,  of  his  most  expressive  characters. 

The  subject  is  capable  of  very  great  extension,  but  unhappily  for 

the  full  essentials  of  a bambochade—a  kind  of  painting  which  supposes  vulgarity 
or  grotesqueness,  or  absolute  insignificance,  as  well  of  expression  as  of  form  and 
feature. 

Again,  there  are  other  reasons,  besides  those  1 have  mentioned  above,  for  the 
dilFerence  between  written  pictures,  that  appeal  to  the  imagination  directly,  and 
those  which  address  it  solely  through  the  eyes.  I have  just  been  reading,  in  the 
Wandering  Jew  (that  book  of  a prose-poet  who  paints  at  times  as  we  do,  though 
he  holds  no  pencil),  the  atfecting  picture  of  the  explained  misunderstanding 
between  Marshal  Simon  and  his  children.  Old  Dagobert  himself  is  in  the  em- 
braces of  the  angelic  twins,  and  behold.  Killjoy,  the  great  dog,  stands  up  on  his 
hindlegs,  and  puts  his  forepaws  on  the  back  of  the  soldier!  being  anxious  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  rapture  of  the  group.  What  can  be  more  natural  1 what  more 
touching— in  a book  I My  eyes  filled  at  the  scene ; for  I read  it : had  I seen  it  in 
a picture,  I must  have  laughed.  Do  the  narrow  limits,  to  which  this  book  con- 
fines our  observations  on  so  important  a subject,  prevent  the  young  artist’s  seeing 
how  superlatively  ridiculous  a painted  scene  like  this  would  be,  though  so 
charmingly  pathetic  in  writing?  in  a word,  does  he  see  the  difference  between 
painting  and  written  description,  and  the  “tenfold”  danger  of  falling,  in  the 
former,  from  an  injudicious  choice  of  subject,  into  the  buffoonery,  or  vulgar  farce, 
or  silly  sentimentalism,  the  Betty-  Foyery  and  Peter- Be/Zishness,  of  a bambochadf  f 


328  EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 

middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  who  from  his  low 
stature  and  singular  proportions  was  nicknamed  by  th« 
Italians  Bamhoccio  {hamboche,  in  French),  which  signifies 
in  its  more  usual  acceptation  a large  doll.  As  the  figures 
of  Peter  too  much  resembled  his  own,  the  insulting  epithet 
that  might  otherwise  never  have  been  applied,  or  would  at 
least  have  dropped,  stuck  to  him,  as  it  does  still  in  the 
history  of  the  art,  while  hambocciata,  and  bamboccio  also  in 
the  same  sense,  with  their  French  derivate  bambochade, 
have  taken  a permanent  place  in  the  vocabularies  of  the 
two  languages. 

BASSO  RELIEVO  {bassorilievo) ; BAS-RELIEF. 
See  Relief. 

BEAR  OUT.  Colors  are  said  to  bear  out,  when  they 
appear  in  their  full  vivacity.  The  force  of  the  phrase, 
which  though  highly  expressive  is  mere  cant,  will  be  com- 
prehended at  once,  on  observing  the  effect  of  varnish  upon 
the  parts  of  a picture  that  have  dried  dull. 

BEAU  IDEAL.  See  Ideal. 

BLOOMING.  The  softer  varnishes,  to  which  class 

me  not  in  a dictionary, — certainly  not  in  a dictionary  of  art  publish- 
ed in  America.  However,  I may  add  this  brief  remark : In 
Greece,  the  beauty  of  the  forms  of  sculpture  was  at  once  the  cause 
and  the  effect  of  the  love  of  beauty  in  real  existence  that  was  so 
universal.  When  in  modern  times  we  shall  come  to  value  and  to 
understand  beauty,  then  and  then  alone  may  we  hope  to  aspire  to 
equal  Grecian  Art. 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


32G 


mastic  or  the  ordinary  picture  varnish  belongs,  are  liable 
through  effects  of  damp  to  what  is  technically  called 
hlooming.  Whether  this  blemish  derive  its  name  from  its 
resembling  in  appearance  the  hloom  which  beautifies  while 
it  dims  the  lustre  of  the  plum  and  grape,  I do  not  know, 
but  as  its  effect  on  a picture  is  much  more  that  of  mildew^ 
the  phrase  is  certainly  equivocal,  considering  its  usual 
acceptation  in  language.  Another  term  applied  to  a simi 
lar  defect  in  varnishes  is  chilling.  When  you  say  that  a 
varnish  has  chilled,  or  become  chilled,  you  convey  your 
meaning  more  readily  to  common  apprehension  than  when 
you  say  of  it,  it  blooms  ; nevertheless  even  this  word  is 
stale,  flat,  and  unprofitable.”  What  hinders  an  artist 
from  saying  simply,  his  varnish  has  clouded  or  become 
clouded,  or  dim,  or  tarnished  ? He  would  then  speak  in- 
telligibly and  in  good  English.  A man  of  taste  and  re- 
finement should  always  eschew  for  his  art  the  use  of  a 
pedantic  jargon ; although  it  is  necessary  that  he  under- 
stand it  when  employed  by  others. 

The  analogous  phrase  in  French  for  blooming',  is  chanci, 
or,  more  rarely,  though  more  properly,  chancissure.  To 
avoid  the  defect,  never  varnish  except  on  a bright  and  dry 
day ; to  remedy  it,  adopt  the  means  indicated  on  p.  286,  or 
apply  a very  little  oil,  rubbing  it  off  immediately  with  a bit 
of  soft  silk  and  continuing  the  friction  till  the  dull  spot 
takes  a polish. 

Varnishes  (of  the  harder  resins  as  well  as  the  softer), 
made  with  essential-oils,  are  liable  to  lose  their  transpa- 
rency, even  in  the  bottle. 


330 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


BODY, — applied  either  to  prepared  pigments  or  llieil 
vehicles,  regards  their  substance  or  consistence.  In  either, 
when  existing  in  a great  degree  it  supposes  opacity,  which 
in  pigments  makes  them  reflective  of  light.  Yet  as  vehi- 
cles may  have  some  body  without  losing  their  transpa- 
rency, so  may  pigments  that  are  ranked  as  transparent  be 
with  perfect  propriety  said  to  possess  it,  when  their  tinging- 
power  is  great,  which  is  the  case  with  Prussian  Blue  and 
Indian  Yellow. 

BOLDNESS — is  directly  opposed  to  Timidity,  in  art  as 
elsewhere,  but  particularly  as  in  language  ; and  the  best 
way  to  define  it,  is  thus  to  indicate  its  opposite. 

“ Very  high  finishing  is  apt  to  injure  boldness,  as  well  in 
drawings  as  in  paintings ; which  is  one  reason  why  the 
sketches  of  some  masters  please  us  better  than  their  more 
labored  pieces.  Both  boldness  and  finishing  should  be 
regulated  by  the  nature  of  the  composition,  its  proposed 
situation,  etc.”  (^Artist’s  Repository.) 

BREADTH.  This  important  term  of  art  is  applied  to 
both  design  and  coloring.  Breadth  is  usually  indicative 
of  a master,  as  the  want  of  it  almost  always  accompanies 
the  performance  of  an  amateur.  When  the  lights  of  a 
picture  are  so  arranged  that  they  seem  to  be  in  masses,  and 
the  darks  are  massed  to  support  them,  so  that  the  attention 
of  the  spectator  is  powerfully  arrested  and  kept  bound,  wa 
have  what  is  called  breadth  of  ejfect,  which  is  mainly  pro- 
duced by  the  coloring  and  chiaroscuro.  In  design,  a broad 
manner  will  most  readily  be  seen  in  the  cast  of  the  dra^ 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


331 


ries.  But  the  following  example  from  Mr.  Haydon’s 
Lectures  will  best  explain  the  meaning.  Speaking  of  the 
extensor-muscle  of  the  little  finger,  he  says : “ . . The 
ancients  sometimes  showed  no  other  muscle ; which  kept 
the  forearm  broad.  This  management  is  visible  in  the 
arms  of  the  Hyperion  guiding  the  horses,  from  the  pedi- 
ment  of  the  Parthenon,  and  it  ina.^ses  the  stringy,  vulgar 
look  which  the  arms  of  the  Moses  [of  Michelangelo]  have, 
and  which  destroys  the  rotundity  and  breadth  of  the  fore- 
arm.” It  must  be  evident,  therefore,  that  to  secure  breadth 
a principal  part  must  be  made  predominant  and  parts  that 
are  but  secondary  must  be  kept  in  due  subordination,  and 
that  thus  detail  in  its  technical  sense  is  opposed  to  breadth. 
But  the  young  artist  must  not  fall  into  the  easy  error  of  mis- 
taking emptiness  for  breadth : there  are  details  that  are  essen- 
tial, as  there  are  others  that  are  not  essential ; the  latter,  it  is 
evident,  may  on  this  principle  of  breadth  be  omitted,  the 
former  cannot,  without  ofience  to  truth.  Hear  again  the 
author  I have  just  cited  : “ There  is  no  doubt  that  breadth 
without  detail  proves  more  comprehensive  than  detail 
without  breadth,  but  we  are  not  contending  for  a balance 
of  evils,  but  a principle  of  perfection  ; a mind  that  cannot 
comprehend  the  two  is  not  the  highest  mind,  for  all  the 
greatest  minds  in  the  art  have  comprehended  the  two.” 

A picture  of  the  kind  casually  mentioned  in  the  Preface 
(p.  xiv.)  would  afford  a good  instance  of  o^wanioi  breadth  ; 
and  thus  it  will  appear,  that  breadth  is  essential  to  unity 
of  effect 


332 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


The  corresponding  term  in  French  for  broad  is  large , 
and  we  read  occasionally  in  English  of  a large  manner. 
All  these  expressions  are  more  or  less  vague,  and  are 
better  explained  by  examples  than  by  language.  A couple 
of  pictures,  or  the  engravings  of  them,  in  one  of  which 
the  principle  of  breadth  should  have  been  regarded  and  in 
the  other  neglected,  would  render  intelligible  at  once  what 
our  limits  have  not  permitted  me  to  make  as  plain  as  I 
could  desire.  See  Masses ; the  consideration  of  which 
cannot  well  be  dissociated  from  this  subject. 

BRIGHT.  This  word,  like  too  many  others  in  the 
*anguage  of  art,  is  often  equivocal.  Thus  we  apply  the 
epithet  to  a light  in  a picture,  and  mean  that  it  is  lively  or 
vivid^  and  we  speak  of  a tint  or  color  in  the  same  breath, 
and  mean  that  they  are  yale  or  of  little  intensity.  The  ar- 
tisan-painter  expresses  himself  with  a like  ambiguity,  and 
when  he  says  a bright  green,  he  always  means  a green 
that  is  pale,  not  vivid. 

BROAD.  See  Breadth. 

BROKEN  COLORS — are  those  which  are  made  by  vari- 
ous combination  of  the  primary  colors  and  their  compounds. 
In  nature,  as  in  art,  there  is  but  little  color  seen  that  is  not 
broken  ; yet,  in  the  latter,  a want  of  judgment  may  carry 
che  principle  of  breaking  too  far,  producing  what  is  more 
expressively  than  elegantly  termed  dirt ; and  even  very 
little  breaking  where  the  colors  are  inimical  (see  Antipa- 
thy) will  result  in  foulness, — which  really  some  painters 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


333 


seem  o mistake  for  the  opposite  of  gaudiness,  glare,  and 
crudeness. 

BOSSE,  (Fr.)  See  Ronde  Bosse. 

BUST.  This  word  as  a term  of  art  belongs  originally 
to  sculpture  : yet  we  may  say  with  perfect  propriety,  in 
speaking  of  a picture,  a lust-jiortrait ; though  we  cannot  a 
jportrait-hust,  which  would  bring  the  term  again  within  the 
art  of  the  statuary  or  modeller. 

C. 

CALKING  or  Calquing  (from  the  Fr.  verb,  Calquer). 
See  Chap,  iv..  Part  III.,  of  the  Handbook. 

CAMEO,  or  rather  CAMMEO, — is,  in  its  original  signi- 
fication.  a hard  laminated  stone  that  is  of  a different  color 
above  from  what  it  is  beneath,  so  that,  in  cutting  the  figures 
upon  it,  enough  is  removed  to  leave  the  ground  or  field  of 
one  color  while  the  figures  are  of  another.  The  word  is 
Italian,  and  is  likewise  applied  to  the  figure  or  figures  thus 
in  relief,  without  regard  to  the  stone,  which  may  be  a car- 
nelion,  or  any  other  suitable  for  the  chisel. 

CARNATION,  {carnation^  Fr.,  carnagione,  Ital.)  All 
the  Jlesh  in  a picture  may  be  comprehended  under  this 
term,  though  it  is  usually  confined  to  the  upper  parts  of  the 
body.  Carnations,  in  the  plural,  is  applied  to  the  flesh  in 
different  parts,  as  appearing  separately  as  the  face,  breasts 


334 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


and  hands.  It  is  used  also  for  the  tints  by  which  these 
parts  are  represented,  and  thus  is  synonymous  with  flesh- 
tints. 

CARTOON.  {carton,  Fr.  carlone,  Ital.)  Cartone  is 
stout  paper,  and  pasteboard.  Hence  the  word  came  to  be 
applied  by  the  Italians  to  the  drawings,  or  colored  sketches 
on  paper,  destined  to  be  transferred,  in  various  ways,  to 
walls,  panels,  canvas,  etc.  The  word  is  scarcely  used  in 
our  tongue,  except  in  speaking  of  the  Cartoons  of  Raphael, 
which  were  designs  for  tapestry. 

CARTOUCHES.  (Fr.)  “ Ornaments  adapted  to  certain 
inscriptions,  mottoes,  arms,  and  other  devices.  They  have 
acquired  this  appellation,  by  being  generally  representa- 
tions of  paper,  etc.,  rolled,  folded,  or  returned  at  the  ends.” 
{Art.  Rep.) 

CELADON.  (Fr.)  Pale  Green. 

CERTAINTY.  “ The  just  medium  between  hardness 
and  unmeaning  softness  of  outline.”  {Art.  Rep.) 

CHARGING — is  exaggeration.  Charger  (Fr.)  is  to 
load  ; and  in  Italian  caricare  is  the  same  : whence  carica- 
tura,  a picture  in  which  everything  is  charged  in  order  to 
produce  a ridiculous  and  satirical  effect ; a caricature. 
Loading,  as  a word,  is  perfectly  synonymous ; but,  in  its 
application,  it  is  confined  to  coloring. 

Avoid  charging,”  says  the  English  translation  of 
Dcpilcs’  Principles  : “ the  antique  statues  never  have  this 
pedantry  or  exaggeration.”  A faithful  saying,  and  worthy 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


335 


qf  all  acceptation.  Again  : “ If  you  would  have  the  work 
produce  a good  effect  where  it  is  to  hang,  both  the  colors 
and  the  lights  must  be  a little  loaded;  but  learnedly 
and  with  discretion.” 

CHIAROSCURO.  While  the  theme  suggested  by 
this  word  is  the  most  interesting  perhaps  in  the  whole  range 
of  the  art  of  painting,  its  vast  importance,  great  extent, 
and  its  intricacy,  will  not  permit  anything  like  a detailed  ex- 
planation to  be  crowded  into  the  space  afforded  by  a 
lexicon-appendix  like  this.  I can  therefore  merely  give  a 
definition  of  the  word  and  its  general  import,  with  a brief 
criticism  on  the  word  itself  (see  Clairohscure),  referring  the 
student  for  a proper  intelligence  of  the  subject  to  less 
humble  books. 

Chiaroscuro  is  an  Italian  compound- word  whose  two  parts, 
cliiaro  and  oscuro,  signify  simply  bright  and  obscure,  or  light 
and  dark.  Hence  the  art  or  branch  of  art  that  bears  the 
name  regards  all  the  relations  of  light  and  shade,  and  this 
independently  of  coloring,  notwithstanding  that  in  painting 
coloring  and  the  clairohscure  are  of  their  very  nature  in- 
separable. The  art  of  clairohscure,  therefore,  teaches  the 
painter  the  disposition  and  management  in  general  of  his 
lights  and  darks,  with  all  their  degrees,  extreme  and  in- 
termediate, of  tint  and  shade,  both  in  single  objects,  as  the 
parts  of  a picture,  and  in  combination  as  one  whole,  so  as 
to  produce  the  best  representation  possible  in  the  best  man- 
ner possible,  that  is,  so  as  to  produce  the  most  desirable 
effect  upon  the  senses  and  spirit  of  the  observer.  In  a 


336 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


word,  its  end  and  aim  are  fidelity  and  beauty  of  imitation  ; 
its  means,  every  effect  of  light ; chromatic  harmonies  and 
contrasts ; chromatic  values  ; reflections  ; the  degrada- 
tions of  atmospheric  perspective ; etc.  etc. — See  Effect. 

CHIAROSCURO  is  also  a picture  of  a single  color,  or 
monochromatic;  what  has  further  been  called,  after  the 
French,  camayeu ; and  it  would  seem  that  it  was  to  such 
paintings,  which  were  merely  light  and  shade,  that  the 
Italians  first  applied  the  term.  When  well  executed,  they 
are  very  pleasing  ; but  correctness  of  design  is  here  of  the 
last  importance.  The  ornaments  of  the  little  operahouse 
in  Chambers- street  are  chiariscuri. — Never  say  chiaroscu- 
ros ; the  word  is  one  that  though  adopted  into  English,  as 
into  other  languages,  can  never  coalesce  with  it,  but 
must  always  remain  Italian.  You  may  say,  however, 
'paintings  in  chiaroscuro,  or  painted  in  chiaroscuro  ; and  still 
better,  paintings  or  painted  in  clairohscure  ; for  this  latter 
word  better  harmonizes  with  the  language ; and  hence  it 
became  at  a very  early  day  incorporated  with  it,  by  usage 
of  the  best  writers  (see  Clairohscure) : but  do  not  say  clair- 
obscures  ; 'nothing  could  be  more  barbarous. 

CHIAROSCURO  is  again  the  term  for  a kind  of  print 
in  imitation  of  tinted  drawings,  and  formerly  in  much  re. 
quest.  The  shades  and  middletints  were  executed  by 
means  of  blocks  (W  plates,  at  different  impressions,  the  lights 
being  left  out. 

CHROMATIC.  {chromaticos,GV.)  Pertaining  to  colors. 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


387 


CHROMATOGRAPHY,  {chroma,  color,  whose  genitive 
is  chromatoS;  and  graphe,  description.)  Account,  descrip- 
tion, or  treatise,  of  colors,  their  properties,  uses,  etc. 
Hence  we  may  use  Chromatographer  ; like  geographer,  etc. 

CHROMOGRAPHER  and  CHROMOGRAPHY.  The 
same  as  Chromatographer  and  Chromatography. 

CITRINE  (better  Citrin,  as  Chaucer  wrote  it ; for  the 
i is  never  sounded  hard,  or  full,  by  polite  speakers).  One 
of  the  tertiary  colors.  It  is  composed  of  orange  and  green, 

CLAIROBSCURE.  {clair-dhscur,  Fr.)  The  same  as 
Chiaroscuro;  which  see. — Webb,  in  his  delightful  little 
book,  writes  it  Clear  Obscure"^.  Had  he  desired  to  make  it 

* This  is  one  of  the  two  or  three  queer  terms  (see  Sbozzo)  that 
mar  in  one  or  two  places  the  agreeableness,  without  detracting  from 
the  value,  of  the  “ Inquiry  into  the  Beauties  of  Painting.’*  Sir 
Martin  Archer  Shee  (“  Rhymes  on  Art”)  calls  Webb,  injuriously, 
a coxcomb  ! in  open  retaliation  of  his  offensive  but  justly  deserved 
rebuke  of  the  wilful  ignorance  of  artists  as  a mass  (a),  and  their 
disregard  (still  as  a mass)  and  want  of  perception  of  the  spirit  of 
true  beauty,  both  in  their  own  practice  and  in  their  criticism  of  that 
of  others  If  there  be  an  air  of  pretension  in  any  part  of  the  In- 
quiry,” it  is,  like  the  strange  nomenclature  we  have  just  noticed, 
of  the  nature  of  those  little  blemishes  that  a scholar  and  poet,  lika 

(a)  “ Ma  di  costor,  che  a lavorar  a’accingono, 

Quattro  quinti,  per  Dio,  non  sanno  leggere.” 

But  out  of  those,  who  gird  them  to  the  task. 

Four  fifths,  by  Heaven,  can  not  so  much  as  read  I 
Salv.  Rosa  (Sat.  3),  as  cited  by  the  very  authority  who  is  brought  to  bMT 
against  Webb  for  saying  a similar  thing  in  terms  far  less  offensive. 

16 


S38 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


English,  it  should  have  been  rather  Bright  Obscure,  fot 
though  clear  does  originally  mean  bright,  and  is  used  in 
that  sense  still,  yet  here  it  would  not  be  directly  intelligible  ; 
and,  either  way,  it  ought  to  be  written  either  as  one  word, 
Clearohscure,  or  connected  by  a hyphen,  Bright-Obscure, 
because  it  is  no  more  the  clear  or  bright  Obscure,  than  it  is 
the  obscure  Clear  or  obscure  Bright,  but  expresses  the  re- 
lations of  each  in  its  union  or  association  with  the  other, 
however  it  expresses  them  but  badly.  It  is  indeed  much 
to  be  regretted  that  when  the  evil  was  as  yet  not  grown  toe 
old  to  be  corrected,  this,  with  other  vague  expressions,  had 
not  received  some  substitute  from  the  many  excellent  Eng- 
lish writers  that  from  time  to  time  have  adorned  and  im- 
proved the  science  of  the  painter ; but  it  is  now  too  late  ; 

Sir  Martin,  should  have  loved  to  spare.  JYon  panels  offendar 
maculis,  etc.  And  it  is  curious  enough  to  observe  how  Winkel- 
mann  himself,  who  taught  the  poet  this  reproach  for  Webb,  comes 
near  being  served  with  a like  compliment  from  De  Burtin,  who 
among  connoisseurs  is  perhaps  the  greatest  coxcomb,  and  therefore 
the  most  amusing,  that  ever  wrote  ; and  for  what  ? Because  the 
antiquarian  belauded  Raphael  Mengs,  from  whom  Webb  is  said,  by 
that  very  antiquarian,  to  have  obtained  the  best  part  of  his  infor- 
mation. So  it  is ; Ccedimus,  inque  vicem  /.  . and  the  enamored  of  the 
ideal,  that  i«,  of  beautiful  and  lofty  nature,  will  always  be  at  log- 
gerheads with  the  votaries  of  her  homelier  and  humbler  and  often 
vulgar  sister.  However — for  I am  carrying  this  too  far — whether 
Webb  derived  the  better  part  of  his  discourses  from  the  stores  of 
Mengs  or  not,  is  a matter  of  very  little  consequence ; enough  that 
they  are  a work  I can  recommend  with  confidence  to  those  who  love 
the  literature  of  the  art. 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


339 


and  the  best  that  we  can  do  is  not  to  set  aside  the  familial 
clairobscure  or  clare-ohscure^  which  has  long  been  rnada 
English,  for  the  grander  chiaroscuro,  which  never  can,  and 
whose  very  sonorousness  makes  it  roll  like  pedantry  or 
aifectation  on  the  tongue  of  speakers  whose  native  language 
is  rarely  magniloquent. 

COLORIST.  An  artist-painter,  whose  peculiar  excel- 
lence is  his  coloring, — but  not  therefore  his  only  excellence. 

An  eye  for  color,  like  the  faculty  of  wit,  being  a gift 
of  nature,  and  not  in  any  way  acquirable,  has  been  the 
cause  that  those  who  display  the  former  to  a great  degree 
undergo  in  painting  the  fate  of  wits  in  writing,  “ hated, 
though  caressed.”*  Thus,  while  you  will  not  find  the 
colorist  objecting  constantly  to  the  mere  designer  his  want 
of  skill  in  the  rarest  excellence  of  the  art,  you  will  always 
hear  the  mere  designer  express  a sort  of  depreciating  com- 
passion for  the  deficiencies  of  the  colorist ; and  the  remark 

* Man  is  always  vainer  of  the  accidental  gifts  of  nature,  than  of 
those  qualities  that  he  has  a better  right  to  esteem  his  own,  being 
of  his  own  acquirement.  Hence  beauty,  grace  of  person,  gaiety  of 
heart  and  spirit,  the  talents  mentioned  in  the  text,  even  the  loftier 
virtue  that  makes  a man  not  only  good  in  the  ordinary  sense,  but 
generous,  just,  truth-loving  and  severely  honorable,  all  these  and 
other  natural  gifts  excite  irritation  and  a feeling  of  malice  towards 
their  possessors  m the  breast  of  most  persons,  and  wound  the  self- 
.ove  too  often  of  their  friends.  These  seem  to  impeach  Heaven  of 
favoritism,  and  favorites  are  always  hated. 

The  philosophy  of  Epictetus  finds  few  admirers,  saving  in  the 
books. 


340 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


ascribed  to  Buonaroti  respecting  Titian  has  been  repeated, 
from  generation  to  generation,  by  those  perhaps  who  never 
saw  a work  of  either,  and  is  taken  up  as  absolute  proof 
that  Titian  was  in  this  respect  deficient.  Yet  Nature,  were 
she  appealed  to,  might  easily  reply  that  Titian  was  more 
true  to  her  than  Michelangelo  ; and  it  would  not  be  diffi- 
cult to  demonstrate,  that  for  his  purposes  he  had  all  the 
design  that  was  essential.  Had  he  chosen  the  same  range 
of  subjects  as  Raphael,  and  been  able  to  express  them  with 
the  same  felicity,  adding  thereto  his  own  peculiar  excel- 
lence, the  peerless  Venetian  had  been  the  world-renowned 
Apelles  of  all  modern  art. 

In  fine,  if  the  great  colorists  cannot  be  allowed  the  degree 
of  eminence  in  design  to  which  the  great  designers  who 
made  it  their  all  but  exclusive  study  have  attained,  it  can 
never  be  questioned  that  they  are  fully  equal  to  the  best 
among  those  who  range  but  a degree  or  two  below  the 
great  designers. 

COLUMBINE.  Dove-color ; the  changeable  violet  of 
a pigeon’s  throat.  The  French  have  a lake  that  bears  the 
name,  which  is  said  to  be  a bluish  rose. 

CON  AMORE.  (Ital.)  EiieroWj,  with  love.  With  zest 
and  spirit,  as  if  one  put  one’s  heart  into  the  work. 

CONNOISSEUR — is  to  the  amateur,  what  he  who  un- 
derstands what  he  admires,  and  why  he  admires,  is  to  the 
one  who  merely  admires  without  knowing  wherefore,  or 
being  always  sure  of  bestowing  his  admiration  wisely. 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


84i 


They  both  love  the  art ; but  one  is  the  hmr  only,  as  the 
name  implies  {amateur),  while  the  other  is  the  knower  {con- 
noisseur). The  Germans,  who  attach  no  vulgarity  to  the 
use  of  their  indigenous  phrases,  use  indeed  this  very  word, 
knower  {Kenner),  as  they  say  lover  {Liehhaher)  for  amateur. 
The  genius  of  our  language,  whose  liberality  has  made  it 
elegant  as  well  as  forcible,  carries  its  facility  of  incorporat- 
ing foreign  words  sometimes  to  an  extreme  ; and  hence 
W'e  have  these  two  phrases,  which  never  will  seem  purely 
English,  and  are  not  such  to  the  uneducated.  Yet  one  of 
them  is  indispensable.  Though  we  may  say  a lover  of  the 
art,  we  cannot  a knower  in  it ; custom  has  decided  it  other- 
wise ; and  knowing-one  is  the  lively  cant  of  the  turf. — See 
Amateur. 

COPY.  The  central  group  of  Lystra  [one  of  the  car- 
toons] is  taken  and  adopted  from  an  antique  bas-relief  in 
the  Admiranda,  and  suggests  the  .question  whether  it  be 
justifiable  to  plunder  in  this  way.  Surely,  if  you  find 
anything  in  the  ancients  suitable  to  your  invention,  it  is 
justifiable.  But  there  the  praise  must  stop  : the  utmost 
praise  that  can  be  given  is,  that  you  have  shown  skill  in ' 
the  adoption  : and  what  struck  me  with  discouragement  in 
the  Louvre  [in  the  imperial  collection],  was  the  little  ori- 
ginal invention  in  the  world.  Even  Rubens  pilfered  whole- 
sale from  the  old  Germans.  * * * Reynolds  was  what 
Fuzeli  called  a modern  painter,  a bold  adopter. 

“ Remember,  adoption  and  copying  are  different  things. 


342  EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 

To  adopt  and  modify  a figure  requires  skill  and  taste  j out 
the  merest  dolt  can  copy.”  (IIaydon.) — See  Imitate. 

COUNTERHATCHING.  See  Hatching. 

COUP.  Peindre  au  premier  coup,  in  French,  is  to  paint 
off  a picture  at  once,  without  returning  to  it  and  retouch- 
ing ; a facility  that  you  will  often  read  of,  as  character- 
izing some  of  the  performances  of  Rubens. 

CRUDE.  Crudeness  is  rawness,  immaturity,  a want 
of  knowledge,  judgment,  and  skill,  which  may  be  mani- 
fested in  the  coloring,  or  in  the  design,  or  in  the  effect  of 
the  whole  picture.  It  may  easily  occur  in  the  first  works 
of  a young  artist,  without  marking  a want  of  aptitude. 

CRUST.  This  name  is  given,  in  ridicule,  to  a sorry 
painting.  An  amateur,  who  had  exhibited  a picture  of  his 
doing  that  was  rather  more  dark  and  foxy  than  needful, 
inquired  one  day,  with  a satisfied  air,  of  a skilful  painter 
who  knew  his  vanity,  “ How  did  you  find  my  crust  1” 
“ A little  burnt,”  answ'ered  the  latter  gravely.  (De  Mon- 

TABERT.) 

Crust  is  also  used  (as  on  p.  144)  for  any  clumsy  or  ex- 
cessive impasting  of  a color  or  colors. 


D. 


DEADCOLORING.  This  is  the  familiar  term  for  what 
is  more  intelligibly  as  certainly  more  politely  called  the 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


343 


First-Painting.  Sketch  might  be  used  as  another  syncmym, 
and  I have  so  employed  it  repeatedly  in  the  Handbook,  but,  I 
now  think,  unwisely,  seeing  it  has  already  other  received 
meanings  with  artists,  and  the  addition  of  a new  one  would 
only  lead  to  confusion:  (see  Sketch.)  The  French  artists 
term  the  first-painting, — Vehauche  ; Vesquisse  is  our  sketch 
as  at  present  used  ; and  croqiiis,  for  which  we  want  a single 
term  (see  Shozzo),  designates  the  rude  draught,  or  first  pen- 
cillings  of  the  painter’s  conceptions. 

DECIDED.  Decision  of  form  or  outline  is  of  course 
opposed  to  vagueness,  yet,  when  true,  that  is,  in  its  just 
degree,  it  is  as  far  removed  from  hardness,  stiffness,  or 
dryness.  By  aiming  however,  without  judgment,  at  the 
virtue,  it  is  easy  to  fall  into  the  excess  which  is  the  vice. 
And  this  want  of  judgment  is  usually,  in  the  young,  to  be 
attributed  to  a want  of  knowledge  and  acquired  skill. 
The  dryness  of  Raphael’s  early  manner  is  ascribed  to  his 
imitation  of  his  master  of  Perugia,  yet  he  might  well  have 
had  it  under  the  instruction  of  any  other  master,  or  if  left 
to  his  own  guidance  and  the  imitation  of  nature  : too 
great  a desire  of  exactness  would  have  been  sufficient, 
until  observation  accompanying  practice  had  detected  the 
error,  and  furnished  the  ability  for  its  correction. 

DEGRADATION.  See  Gradation. 

DEMITINT.  (Demi-teinte,  Fr.)  Demitints  are  tints 
that  are  neither  light  nor  shadow,  but  hold  the  middle  place 
between  thtMU.  tlence  they  are  sometimes  called  middle- 


344 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIDNARY 


tints ; which,  as  being  neat  as  well  as  English,  is  perha|)€ 
the  best  term  that  could  be  used.  Sometimes  you  even 
read,  in  English  writers,  mezzotints ; but  the  Italian  sub- 
stantive for  demitint  in  painting  is  not  mezzo  Unto,  but  mezza 
iinta  : mezzoscuro,  I believe,  is  also  used. 

Half-tint  is  another  pure  English  word,  that  is  an  exact 
translation  of  the  French  demi-teinte  ; and  this  is  favored 
by  the  truly  English  Haydon. 

DETAIL.  Details,  as  a term,  may  be  opposed  to  masses. 
It  is  often  used  in  a bad  sense,  though  absolutely,  to  signify 
petty  details,  minutiae,  such  as  cause  more  labor  than  they 
are  worth,  and  even  where  they  do  not  degenerate  into 
dryness  rather  injure  the  picture  than  otherwise,  by  dis- 
tracting attention. 

DIPTYQUE.  (Diptyclios,  Gk.  Double,  or  doubled.) 
Folding-pictures,  or  pictures  enclosed  in  a sort  of  portable 
cabinet  with  folding-doors. 

Said  of  colors.  See  Broken. 

DISTEMPER.  {Detrempe,  Fr.  Tempera,  Ital.)  Dis- 
/cwjper-painting  is  painting  with  colors  made  liquid  in  water 
tempered  with  glue,  or  white  of  egg,  or  even  yolk  of  egg, 
or  both  white  and  yolk  together,  as  was  practised  in  the 
olden  time.  Size  of  glue  has  however  always  been  the 
general  mode.  See  p.  130. 

DRY — is  usually  applied  to  a sharp  and  frigid  precise, 
ness  of  outline,  as  injurious  to  grace  as  to  true  relief : but 


DIRT.  \ 
DIRTY.  I 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


345 


it  may  be  used  with  regard  to  anj'  of  the  elements  that 
make  up  a picture,  or  to  the  effect  of  the  whole.  In  fact, 
its  metaphorical  usage  in  painting  is  perfectly  analogous 
to  the  same  in  letters  ; and  what  would  make  a dry  style 
in  the  one,  would,  mutalis  mutandis^  produce  it  in  the  other. 

-See  Decided. 


E. 


“ ECTYPES.  Impressions  derived  from  moulds  made 
on  the  originals  or  types.”  (De  Mont.)  Ectypos  (Gk.) 
is — formed,  impressed,  or  moulded  after  the  archetype  ; 
and  Pliny  (xxxv.,  12,  or  43),  latinizing  the  word,  uses 
ectypum  for  the  copy  or  image  made  after  the  pattern,  or 
cast  in  the  mould,  of  what  he  calls  the  protypum,  i.  e.  the 
first  type,  or  pattern,  the  model,  prototype.  I agree  with 
the  philosophic  author,  from  whose  dictionary  I have  bor- 
rowed the  word  for  my  own,  in  thinking  Ectype  a happy  suh~ 
stitute  for  more  ordinary  terms.  Certainly,  on  occasions 
where  an  elegant  word  is  required,  this  may  very  advan- 
tageously take  the  place  of  Cast  and  the  like.  In  its  figu- 
rative  sense,  it  already  belongs  to  our  great  language, 
having  been  adopted  by  John  Locke. 

EFFECT.  “ By  effect,  in  painting,  is  understood  the 
energy  and  beauty  of  the  optical  results  of  the  combina- 
tions, either  accidental  or  arising  from  calculations  well 
understood,  whether  of  thn  lines,  or  of  the  tones  bright  or 

dark,  or  again  of  the  colors  or  the  tints.  But  it  is  espe. 

ItP 


46 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


ciallyto  the  combinations  of  the  clairobscure  that  the  effect 
Dwes  its  energy,  its  suavity,  and  its  charm : and  what 
proves  it,  is  the  engravings  which  offer  without  coloring 
much  effect.  Coloring  indeed  does  produce  its  particular 
effect,  but  it  is  optically  subordinate  to  that  which  is  ob- 
tained by  the  bright  and  dark,  semi- bright  and  semi-dark 
masses.  We  distinguish  then  the  effect  of  Rubens  and 
the  coloring  of  Titian.  The  pictures  of  Poussin,  David, 
and  Raphael  have  but  little  effect;  those  of  Vandyck, 
Velasquez.  Gerard  Dow,  Reynolds,  and  Prudhon  have  a 
great  deal  of  effect.”  (De  Montabert.) 

EMBTJ.  (Fr.)  See  Chap.  vi.  of  Part  II. ; p.  140. 

ENAMEL.  Painting  in  enamel  is  done  by  means  of 
colors  that  are  vitrifiable,  a quality  that  is  communicated 
to  them  by  combining  them  with  a vitreous  base,  which  is 
called  their  flux.  These  are  fused  and  fixed  on  the  enamel 
by  the  action  of  fire,  which  produces  in  the  colors  applied 
such  changes  as  the  artist  has  previously  learned  to  cal- 
culate. 

ENCAUSTIC.  Encaustos  in  Greek  signifies  simply 
burnt  in, — encauston,  a kind  of  painting  that  is  executed  by 
burning  in  ; whence  the  adjective,  encausticos.  Thus  it  will 
be  seen  that  Encaustic,  as  a mere  term,  would  apply  as  well 
to  enamel-painting.  It  has  however  at  all  times  belonged 
exclusively  to  a mode  of  painting  with  the  ancient  Greeks, 
in  which  wax  was  in  various  modes  combined  with  the 
colors,  and  the  whole  fused  together  by  the  application  of 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


347 


heat.  There  is  great  uncertainty  as  to  the  precise  method 
adopted  by  the  ancients  (Pliny  mentions  very  vaguely 
three  methods,  one  of  them  of  later  date  than  the  others), 
and  at  various  times  various  processes  have  been  published 
by  the  moderns  for  reviving  the  antique  art.  One  of 
the  simplest  and  latest  is  that  devised  by  an  English 
lady  at  the  close  of  the  last  century.  It  will  be  found 
copied  in  the  recent  edition  of  Hayter’s  “ Introduction  to 
Perspective.” 

ENEMIES.  See  Antipathy. 

ENFORCE.  By  enforcing  a shadow,  we  mean  adding 
to  its  depth,  to  its  intensity, — giving  it  in  fact  more  force. 
We  never  speak  of  enforcing  a light,  but  of  heightening,  or 
raising  it.  See  Heighten. 

ENTIRE  (said  of  colors).  See  Primary. 

ENTONE.  See  Tone. 

ESTHETIC.  See  Esthetic. 

ETHOGRAPH.  (ethographos,  Arist.)  A painter  whose 
pencil  represents  the  minds  of  men, — their  dispositions  and 
their  moral  characters.  Such  was  Raphael ; though,  to 
be  exact,  he  painted  rather  their  emotions  and  their 
passions. 

ETHOGRAPHIC.  The  adjective  related  to  the  above. 
It  will  be  found  employed  in  the  note  on  p.  327.  As  re- 
gards its  innovation  and  that  of  its  correlative  term  above 
(for  I know  of  no  authority,  unless  there  be  such  in  ab- 


348 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


stract  propriety,  for  their  usage),  see  the  final  paragraph 
of  this  dictionary. 


EURYTHMIA  or  EURYTHMY.  {eurythmia,  Gk.) 
Order,  grace,  proportion  ; all  that  tends  to  harmony  and 
beauty  in  the  well-ordering,  so  to  say,  of  a picture,  and  all 
that  gives  it  fascination  in  the  result  of  the  whole ; that 
undefinable  something  which  seems  divinity  itself,  and  is 
the  very  atmosphere  that  surrounds  the  best  statues  of  an- 
tiquity ; all  this  is  expressed  by  that  single  word  euryihmyy 
one  of  the  most  precious  that  the  Greek  tongue  has  left 
to  the  world,  and,  now  that  it  is  used  in  all  languages,  one 
of  the  most  indispensable.  There  is  not  one  of  the  fine 
arts  in  which  it  is  not  of  the  most  significant  application  ; 
poetry,  sculpture,  painting,  architecture,  music,  all  in  their 
excellence  have  their  eurythmia  ; the  graceful  and  decent 
rythm  of  the  dance,  such  as  we  see  it  in  a Taglioni,  the 
apt  and  noble  gesticulation  of  a true  actor,  (Quintilian 
himself  applied  it,  and  with  admiration  of  the  phrase,  to 
the  movements  of  the  orator) ; these  too  may  well  be  called 
eurythmia.  It  is  in  fact  esthetic  harmony,  concinnity,  the 
elegance  of  order  and  of  proportion,  the  perfected  rythm 
of  coloring  (as  in  Titian) ; it  \sfelt  as  well  as  seen. 


EURYTHMIC  or  EURYTHMICAL,  ( . 

EURYTHMICALLY,  \ 

ularly  formed  adjective  and  adverb  belonging  to  the  pre- 
ceding noun. 


EXECUTION, — of  course,  indicates,  in  the  first  place, 
the  mode  of  performance.  This  is  its  general  sense,  freed 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


349 


from  all  technicality.  But  execution  is  aiso  used  with  a 
very  confined  application,  that  to  me  appears  to  make  the 
term  little  better  than  cant.  In  this  sense  it  designates  that 
management  of  his  pencil  which  argues  on  the  part  of  the 
painter  a calculation  of  effect,  particularly  of  the  atmos- 
phere as  intervening  between  the  eye  of  the  spectator  and 
the  surface  of  the  picture.  In  this  sense,  an  artist  may 
have  more  execution  than  finish,  and  you  may  say  that 
execution  without  finish  is  better  than  finish  without  execu- 
tion ; but  that  he  who  combines  both,  where  occasion 
makes  it  desirable,  shows  himself  master  of  the  mechani- 
cal part  of  his  profession. 


F. 


FINISH.  “Very  great  care  to  finish  some  parts  of  a 
picture  is  apt  to  injure  the  effect  of  others.  It  is  apt,  also, 
to  weary  the  mind  of  the  artist,  and  thereby  injure  the 
liberty  of  his  hand.  But,  when  finishing  is  united  with 
freedom,  when  it  is  delicate  and  light,  its  effects  (espe- 
cially for  cabinetpieces)  cannot  be  too  much  appre- 
ciated.” (Art.  Rep.) 

The  Dutch  and  Flemish  pictures  are  familiar  illustra- 
tions of  minute  and  often  exquisite  finish;  as  English  and 
American  painting  finds  us  everyday-examples  of  the  very 
reverse. 


FIRST-PAINTING.  See  Deadcoloring. 


350 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


FOOLS’  PARADISE.  “ . . If  a painter  were  to  execute 
a landscape  or  other  subject  in  the  full  light  of  clay,  as  he 
saw  it  looking  through  a prism,  so  that  every  object  glowed 
with  the  hues  of  the  rainbow,  such  a picture  would  pre- 
sent a beautiful  fairy-scene,  and  be  true,  as  respects  colors, 
but  false  with  regard  to  nature,  and  destitute  of  sentiment. 
It  was  this  meretricious  beauty  that  obtained  for  the  prism 
the  appellation  of ‘Fools’  Paradise;’  and  pictures  painted 
with  such  effects  may  v»'ell  merit  the  same  appella- 
tion.” (Field.) 

FOXY.  A vicious  excess  of  warmth  in  a picture  pro 
duces  what  is  cdiWedi  foxiness.  The  tints  and  tones  of  an 
artist,  who  without  judgment  attempts  to  imitate  the  glow 
of  Titian,  are  very  apt  to  be  made  foxy.  This  fault  in 
coloring  may  likewise  be  the  result  of  time  in  a picture  in 
which  the  warmer  colors  have  been  used  too  freely.  The 
origin  of  the  term  is  evident,  and  is  its  best  definition. 

FRACAS.  (Fr.)  The  French  apply  this  word  to 
express  the  tumult  of  certain  scenes ; as  for  example  in 
battlepieces. 

FRESCO.  Painting  on  the  mortar  of  a wall  while  it 
is  yet  wet, — that  is,  fresh,  according  to  the  Italian  term. 
It  was  a common  mode  with  the  old  frescopainters  to  glaze 
over  parts  of  their  frescoes  after  they  had  dried ; and  this 
was  called  painting  in  secco.  It  is  of  frequent  mention  in 
Cennino.  Frescopainting  is  done  in  distemper. 

The  intonaco  or  inUmico,  which  you  will  sometimes  see 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


351 


spoken  of,  in  English  writers,  in  reference  to  this  mode  of 
painting,*  is  the  last  or  finishing  coat  of  plaster,  as  the  rough 
coat,  over  which  it  was  spread,  was  called  arricciato, 

FRESCANTL  (pi.  Ital.)  Frescopainters. — The  sin- 
gular is  frescante. 


G. 

GARANCE — is  the  French  name  for  the  madder-root. 
Hence  their  laques  de  garance  are  our  madder-lakes.  The 
Italian  term  for  madder  is  rohhia,  probably  from  the  Latin 
ruhia  {tinctoria),  whence  we  have  also  in  English,  Ruhiafe, 
as  another  name  for  some  of  Field’s  lakes. 

GENRE  {Peintures  de) — is  the  absurd  name  [genre 
signifying  merely  kind),  given  by  the  French  to  pictures 
representing  domestic  groups,  or  scenes  of  familiar  or  vul- 
gar life,  such  as  the  Dutch  painters  have  delighted  in. 

GLAZING.  See  Part  II.,  Chapter  v. 

GRADATION.  Progression  of  tints  by  degrees, 
whether  up  or  down  the  scale  of  light  and  dark.  Degra- 
dation is  the  progression  or  scale  downwards  ; so  that  it  is 
well  applied  to  the  series  of  tints  that  mark  the  gradual 
indistinctness  of  color,  and  the  enfeebling  of  the  clairob- 
scure,  in  aerial-perspective.  Degradation  is  always  gra- 

Sir  Humphry  Davy  (letter  to  Mr.  Haydon,  in  the  latter’s  Lee* 
tures)  uses  intonaco  for  any  plaster  to  paint  upon — I mean,  whether 
a ground  laid  on  panel,  or  a wall. 


852 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


dation ; but  gradation  is  not  necessarily  degradation,  for 
the  former  may  be  a step  upward,  while  the  latter  is  always 
a step  downward. 

This  is  the  true  distinction  ; but  it  is  one  that  is  rarely, 
if  ever,  observed  ; both  terms  being  used  indiscriminately 
to  signify  what  in  strictness  can  be  expressed  by  degrada- 
tion alone. 

GRANDEUR.  “ Grandeur  of  style  does  not  consist  in 
the  omission  of  all  details,  but  in  the  judicious  selection  of 
the  leading  ones.”  (Haydon.) 

GRISAILLE.  A term  given  by  the  French  to  mono- 
chromatic pictures,  or  paintings  in  clairohscure,  of  which 
the  single  color  is  gray  (gris).  In  former  times,  as  appears 
by  their  older  vocabularies,  they  gave  in  like  manner  the 
name  cirage  to  one  in  which  the  color  was  yellow ; {cire, 
wax.)  See  Chiaroscuro. 

GROTESQUES.  These  are  the  familiar  ornaments 
better  known  as  Arabesques.  They  are  said  to  have  de- 
rived this  name  from  their  having  been  found  in  certain 
grottoes  (grotte)  by  Giovanni  da  Udine,  a pupil  of  Raphael’s, 
who,  with  Giulio  Romano,  and  others,  assisted  his  master 
in  the  decoration  of  the  Loggie  (a  sort  of  exposed  galleries, 
or  covered  balconies  open  at  the  side  and  supported  by 
slender  pillars),  that  are  without  the  Vatican.  They  are 
in  fact  of  very  ancient  origin,  being  found  on  the  painted 
vases  of  ancient  Etruria — the  same  stalks  and  leaves 
(whence  the  Italians  call  them  fogliami  groUeschi,  as  well 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


35S 


as  grotteschi  simply),  with  ugly  and  designedly  distorted 
human  faces  or  masks,  interspersed  and  connected  with 
the  foliage  as  if  they  grew  out  of  it,  etc.,  just  as  we  see 
them  in  modern  art,  though  infinitely  bettered  in  every  point 
of  grace  by  the  elegant  invention  of  Raphael.  These  sorts 
of  ornaments  were  greatly  in  vogue  with  the  painters  of 
his  day,  the  cinquecentisti,  as  the  Italians  call  them  from 
their  epoch. 

GUMTION.  How  such  a word  as  this  ever  got  footing 
in  a liberal  art  it  would  be  difficult  to  imagine,  did  we  not 
know  that  the  names  of  things  are  not  always  the  result  of 
choice,  but  often  of  mere  caprice,  freak,  or  accident,  and  that 
the  illiterate  and  unrefined  have  as  often  the  giving  of  them 
as  better  godfathers.  Chemistry  has  her  highsounding 
nomenclature,  and  a nomenclature  too  that  is  explicit,  and 
when  she  tells  the  artist  that  such  a pigment  is  the  Pro- 
toxide, Deutoxide,  or  Tritoxide,  or  the  Sulphuret  or  Hydro- 
cyanate  of  such  a metal,  if  educated  he  knows  at  once  what 
it  is,  and  even  if  illiterate,  the  meaning  of  the  phrases  once 
understood,  he  never  afterwards  mistakes  them  when  pre- 
fixed to  other  metals  ; while  even  Heraldry  has  made  her 
jargon  so  sonorous  that  it  is  attractive  in  itself,  seeming  to 
ennoble  inutility  and  to  give  a quasi-sublimity  to  nonsense  : 
but  the  art  of  the  painter,  the  art  that  imitates  the  handi- 
work of  God,  and  makes,  literally  out  of  the  dust  of  the 
earth,  an  all  but  living  image  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
intricate  result  of  His  creation,  this  art  degrades  its 
elements  and  mystifies  its  principles  with  terms  that  seem 


354 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


to  come  of  the  same  family  as  the  cant  of  the  prizefighter, 
and  that  have  no  redeeming  lucidness  of  meaning  and  no 
fixedness  of  construction,  which  are,  in  fact,  vulgarity 
without  expression,  and  jargon  without  sound. 

I might  easily  prove,  and  without  subtilizing,  that  there 
is  a greater  evil  in  this  barbarous  phraseology  than  its  un- 
serviceableness and  the  discredit  it  throws  upon  the  art, 
and  that,  the  offspring  of  a frivolous  and  gross  taste,  it 
reacts  with  pernicious  effect  upon  the  growth  of  good  taste 
and  sedate  judgment ; but  I forbear. 

The  nature  of  the  material  which  recommends  itself 
by  the  euphonious  and  classical  title  I have  eulogized,  will 
be  found  described  in  Chapter  xiii.,  of  Part  I. 

H. 

HANDLING — is  the  manner  in  which  an  artist  uses 
his  pencil,  his  manipulation,  as  seen  in  the  execution  of  his 
picture.  The  French  use  faire  in  a like  technical  sense. 

HARD — is  used  either  of  design  or  coloring ; thus  an 
outline  that  cuts  too  sharply  on  the  ground  of  the  object  is 
said  to  be  hard  (see  Dry  and  Decided) ; but  the  term  is 
more  often  employed,  especially  when  applied  to  the  whole 
of  a picture,  to  denote  a want  of  tenderness,  modesty,  and 
truth,  in  the  coloring.  Hardness  is  often  the  result  of  a 
laborious  effort  to  display  high-finishing. 

HATCHING — is  laying  on  the  strokes  of  the  crayon  or 


OF  IBIPORTANT  TERMS. 


355 


graver  in  parallel  lines,  which  in  the  shadow-parts  are 
crossed  by  other  parallel  lines  (called  counterhatching,  when 
a term  is  used)  at  angles  more  or  less  acute  according  to  the 
depth  of  the  shade,  etc.  It  is  also  used  in  miniature,  and 
there,  as  in  drawing  and  engraving,  is  the  most  masterly, 
when  well  executed,  and  always  the  most  masculine 
manner.  Some  of  the  old  frescoes  are  hatched  in  the 
shadows. 

HEIGHTEN.  To  heighten  a tint  is  to  give  it  more 
vivacity  and  brightness,  that  is,  to  render  it  lighter  of  tone  ; 
which  is  done  by  opaque  colors,  that  reflect  the  light.  We 
do  not  say,  to  heighten  a shadow,  but  to  enforce  it ; height- 
ening  expressing  an  ascent  upon  the  scale  of  Bright  and 
Dark,  if  we  consider  (as,  I may  say,  is  natural)  the  bright 
or  light  as  the  upper  tones  of  the  Clairobscure.  See 
Enforce, 

HIGH  ART.  The  Epic  of  Painting. 

. . . “ About  2280  years  after  Apelles  and  Zeuxis  lived, 
comes  an  English  portraitpainter  [Reynolds],  as  a painter 
of  ‘ high  art  ’ grossly  deficient,  conjecturing  they  [the 
Greeks]  could  not  be  great  in  extensive  compositions,  be- 
cause the  painted  walls  of  private  houses  in  a provincial 
city  of  Rome  [Pompeii]  gave  no  evidence  of  such  excel- 
lence, though  executed  500  years  after  the  greater  eras  of 
Greek  perfection  f It  is  more  than  absurd,  it  is  not  to  be 
read  with  patience.” 

Before  the  Elgin  Marbles  were  received,  “ The  poor 
student  went  abroad  to  be  bewildered,  and  came  back  more 


356 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


bewildered  than  when  he  set  out ; the  portraitpainter,  the 
low-life  painter,  and  the  landscapepainter,  coming  daily 
and  habitually  from  life,  of  course  hated  High  Art ; for,  as 
then  practised,  they  saw  nothing  to  remind  them  of  Nature 
(which  they  saw  everyday)  in  anything  done. — This  was 
the  state  of  things  when  these  divine  things  came, — and 
the  error  was  in  the  principle  laid  down,  that  the  higher 
walk  of  art  addressed  the  mind  ; the  lower,  the  eye ; and 
that  the  union  of  the  two  was  incompatible : whereas,  the 
true  principle  surely  was,  that  both  styles  addressed  the 
mind  through  the  eye,  but  in  different  ways  ; the  one 
making  the  imitation  of  the  actual  substance  the  great 
object  of  pleasure  only ; the  other  (the  high  walk)  making 
the  imitation  of  the  object  with  more  selection  the  means 
of  conveying  a beautiful  expression,  a fine  form,  or  a grand 
idea  with  greater  power ; the  imitation,  though  more  select, 
not  less  real  or  effective  as  an  imitation.’’  (Haydon.) 

HISTORY.  Nothing  can  be  more  indefinite,  even  in 
the  indefinite  phraseology  of  painting,  than  this  term.  W*e 
say  a portraitpainter,  a landscapepainter,  a painter  of  fa- 
miliar life ; and  the  'painter  of  history  has  under  his  branch 
of  the  art  all  the  rest.  All  the  degrees  of  high  art  fall 
under  this  comprehensive  term.  History : it  is  no  matter 
whether  the  subject  be  fabulous  or  not ; so  that  it  requires 
in  its  execution,  and  gives  display  to  the  nobler  character- 
istics of  the  art,  and  the  excellencies  most  difficult  of  attain- 
ment  in  the  artist,  and  therefore  generally  the  Ideal,  it  is 
History.  Seeing  this  difficulty,  which  is  the  same  in  othei 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


357 


languages  as  in  our  own,  M.  de  Montabert  asks,  What 
hinders  from  using  the  phrase  “ megalographic  'painter,  or 
painter  of  great  subjects,*  just  as  we  say,  miniature- 
painter  ?”  It  must  be  answered  that,  apart  from  the  fact 
that  new  words  of  such  a form,  though  they  sound  simple 
enough  to  scholars,  carry  with  them  for  ordinary  ears  a 
tone  of  inflation  or  bombast,  the  common  term  has  been 
made  impregnable  in  its  position  from  the  force  of  long 
custom, 

“ quern  penes  arbitrium  est  et  jus  et  norma  loquendi.” 

Megalogrophy,  which  M.  de  Montabert  introduces  in  his 
dictionary,  is  of  course  liable  to  the  same  objection  of  im 
practicability. 

“ HOUDING.  With  the  Dutch  and  Flemings,  this 
word  expresses  the  maintenance  of  the  various  accords. 
They  say,  ‘ there  is  houding  in  this  picture,’  meaning  that 
the  artist  has  preserved  therein  accordance  and  harmony.” 
(De  Montabert.) 

HORIZONTAL  LINE.  In  Perspective  : — a line  that 
marks  the  horizon,  or  place  of  the  supposed  horizon,  and 
which  is  always  on  a level  with  the  eye. 

For  the  convenience  of  the  student,  I will  group  together 
the  remaining  definitions  I have  to  give  on  these  particu- 
lars of  Design.  They  are  merely  definitions,  however, 
to  assist  his  reading ; their  application  must  be  learned 

* After  Vitruvius’  word,  ; painting,  as  its  inventoi 

defines  it,  whose  theme  is  the  whole  scope  of  mythology. 


358 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


from  some  treatise  on  Perspective. — The  point  in  the  Ilori. 
zontal  Line  directly  opposite  the  eye,  and  which  in  fact 
represents  the  place  of  the  eye,  is  the  Point  of  Sight,  and 
the  ray  that  issuing  from  the  eye  terminates  in  this  point, 
and  forms  a right  angle  with  the  Horizontal  Line,  and  is 
consequently  perpendicular  to  the  plane  of  the  picture,  is 
called  the  Principal  Visual-Ray,  or  simply  Principal  Ray  ; 
and  the  Point  of  Distance  is  the  actual  distance  of  the  eye 
from  the  plane  of  the  picture,  as  measured  on  the  Horizontal 
Line  from  the  Point  of  Sight.  Vanishing-Points  are  the 
points  in  which  parallel  lines  converge  perspectively,  which 
points  in  level  planes  are  in  the  Horizontal  Line,  viz., 
either  the  Point  of  Sight  itself,  or  more  or  less  distant  from 
it  according  to  the  position  of  the  observer.  When  owing 
to  the  obliquity  of  the  surface  these  converging  points  do 
not  meet  in  the  Horizontal  Line,  but  above  or  below  it, 
they  are  called  Accidental  Points,  as  I have  already  ob- 
served under  that  head. 

HUE.  The  hue  of  an  object  is  properly  its  color, 
whether  simple  or  compounded,  without  reference  to  light  or 
shade ; whereas,  tint  is  applied  to  all  those  varieties  of 
color  that  are  produced  by  the  admixture  of  white,  which 
gives  them  a greater  or  less  degree  of  light ; while  shade 
indicates  an  addition  of  darkness  to  a color,  simple  or  com- 
pounded, by  means  of  black.  But  these  distinctions,  with  the 
exception  perhaps  of  tint,  and  not  always  that,  are  usually 
confounded.  It  is  an  accident  indeed  that  is  unavoidable, 
because  of  the  carelessness  of  some  speakeri  and  writers. 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


359 


and  the  ignorance  of  others,  and  the  force  of  habit  in  both ; 
but  it  not  the  less  injures  the  precision  of  language,  and 
thus  helps  to  perplex  instruction.  See  Pigment,  and  Tone. 

In  the  correction  of  the  Handbook,  infinite  pains  was 
taken  to  guard  against  this  confusion  of  terms ; but  despite 
of  going  repeatedly  over  the  proof  of  every  sheet,  without 
sparing  time  or  regarding  fatigue,  several  oversights 
(chiefly,  in  translated  passages)  were  detected  only  when 
too  late,  the  plates  of  the  parts  being  then  already  cast. 

I. 

IDEAL.  BEAU  IDEAL.  (Fr.)  Of  this  latter  phrase, 
for  which  good  taste  and  propriety  will  always  substitute, 
in  English,  either  Ideal  Beauty,  or,  according  to  occasion, 
rejecting  heau,  which  is  not  and  never  can  be  {as  an  ad- 
jectlve)  English,  Ideal  simply, — this  purely  French  phrase 
signifies  the  Ideal  Beautiful,  and  one  of  these  days  will 
come  to  signify  nothing  at  all,  so  far  as  its  present  appli- 
cation is  concerned  ; for  the  minds  of  artists  are  beginning 
to  awake  to  the  absurdity  of  supposing  an  attempt  to 
represent  nature  by  copying  an  abstract  idea,  as  is  ascribed 
to  Phidias  in  the  execution  of  his  Jupiter,  through  the  error 
of  misinterpreting  language  that  he  never  could  have  meant 
to  apply  but  to  his  conception  of  the  work  while  yet  only 
in  intention.  Ideal  Beauty  then,  or  the  Ideal,  is  a term 
which  jealousy,  ignorance,  or  a want  of  observation  in 


360 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


artists,  have  led  them  to  apply  to  the  consummate  beauty 
of  the  antique  statues,  considering  or  affecting  to  considel 
these  as  exaggerations  of  beautiful  nature,  whereas  they 
are  but  the  ectypes  of  beautiful  nature  itself  free  from  all 
commixture  with  nature  that  is  not  beautiful.  That  fine 
creation  of  Sir  Edward  Bulwer’s,  Zarioni,  is  true  Ideal 
Beauty,  a beauty  of  the  moral  man  such  as  never  did  and 
never  can  exist ; but  in  his  external  form,  so  far  as  not 
idealized  by  the  expression  of  his  semi-divine  spirit,  Zanoni 
has  merely  the  beauty  ot  perfect  nature,  such  as  is  seen 
represented  in  the  noblest  of  the  Greek  statues,  such  as 
has  existed  and  may  still  exist  in  individual  reality.  And 
when  I say  that  to  want  of  observation  may  in  part  be 
ascribed  the  denial  of  this  reality,  I speak  but  according 
to  my  proper  experience.  More  than  once  I have  seen 
every  part,  that  is  so  eminent  in  beauty  in  the  ancient 
sculpture  of  the  human  form,  from  the  forehead  and  nose 
(the  most  impressive  of  all)  down  to  the  feet,  quite  as  perfect 
in  existing  nature,  though  never  the  whole  united : what 
prevents  me  from  believing  that  it  may  be  found  united  ? 
what  from  pronouncing  such  a union  quite  inconsequential 
so  far  as  art  is  concerned  1 The  sole  difficulty  is  to  pre- 
serve congruity;  and  over  that  difficulty  Art  should  rise 
triumphant,  as  it  did  actually  with  Phidias  and  others  of 
the  best  epochs  of  Grecian  sculpture.  This  I say,  thinking 
that  the  vulgar  belief  may  be  correct,  that  they  did 
not  form  their  standard  from  a single  model,  1:  ut  from  its 
completeness  in  artistic  combination  ; yet  do  I hold  that 
such  a combination  was  not  necessary.  About  eight  years 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


361 


smce,  I turned  from  my  path  to  follow  through  Chiaja  at 
Naples  a gentleman  on  horseback,  who  rode  a creature 
more  perfect  (as  it  seemed  to  me)  than  any  that  was  ever 
wrought  in  niarble,  because  to  all  the  exquisite  beauty  of 
the  sculptured  animal  it  added  that  which  no  sculpture  can 
ever  give,  the  beauty  of  the  blood  of  young  and  vigo- 
rous life.  It  was,  if  I may  venture  the  expression,  a hero,  a 
demigod,  of  an  animal,  Jupiter  in  a new  transformation.  I 
had  left  Rome  and  Florence  but  a month  before  ; but  I had 
not  been  so  moved  there.  Now  it  were  absurd  to  say,  that  the 
same  nature,  that  could  mould  a perfect  creature  in  a horse, 
could  not  from  time  to  time  give  being  to  a perfect  man  ; 
still  more  absurd  to  say  that  the  brain  and  hand  of  a mere 
mortal  could  give  a lesson  to  the  Deity ; for  to  pronounce 
to  be  exaggeration  what  is  in  the  same  breath  allowed  to  be 
perfection,  is  saying  no  less.  Peter  Van  Laar  saw  but  in 
creation  men  and  women  of  proportions  like  his  own  (see 
Bambochade),  or  at  least  he  cared  to  see  no  other:  would 
it  therefore  follow  that  there  were  no  men  and  women  tall, 
well  proportioned,  agile,  graceful,  and  of  features  capable 
of  grand  repose,  because  Peter  was  himself  short,  clumsy, 
heavy,  awkward  and  grotesque  ? He  that  uses  his  eyes, 
and  takes  not  himself  or  his  friends  for  a standard,  will  see 
enough  of  beauty  around  him  (supposing  him  to  have 
cultivated  tastes  and  practised  observation)  to  match, 
though  piecemeal  it  is  true,  the  very  best  that  is  divinity 
in  the  mastervvorks  of  Greece.*  It  may  not  be  very  irrel- 

* The  name  ol'  Peter  Van  Laar,  who  was  of  Holland,  susrffests  a 
17* 


362 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


evant  to  remind  the  reader,  that,  in  the  world,  all  elevated 
virtue  (which  is  the  beauty  of  the  inner  or  moral  man, 
his  approach  to  ideality)  is  called  romance,  and  that  the 
few  who  venture  to  disclose  it,  or  who  suffer  it  to  be  known 
that  they  aim  at  its  attainment,  are  designated  (by  the  mild 
with  a gentle  compassion,  half  indulgent,  half  reproving, 
and  by  the  rude  with  an  off-hand,  careless  contempt)  as 
romantic.  Is  the  connection  between  the  ethic  and  the 
graphic  seen  ? Mr.  Haydon,  at  least,  would  be  at  no  loss 
to  comprehend  me. 

But  enough.  Under  the  impression  that  an  article  T 
had  already  written  on  this  subject,  and  in  which  I adduced 
several  instances  of  what  is  called  ideal  heauty  that  have 
fallen  under  my  own  eye,  was  too  long  for  the  vocabu- 
lary, I set  to  work  to  write  this  latter,  and  have  found  it  to 
extend  beyond  my  first  intention  to  quite  as  objectionable 
a length. — See  Bamhochade  ; the  note,  pp.  326-328. 

IMITATE.  I take,  from  the  vocabulary  of  a well 
known  French  treatise  on  miniature  published  at  the 
Hague  in  1708,  the  following  excellent  maxim  : “ When 
it  is  said  that  we  must  imitate  the  antique,  or  the  manner 
of  such  a master,  it  is  not  meant  that  we  should  copy  line 
for  line  what  is  painted  or  designed,  or  what  is  sculptured, 
but  that  we  are  to  form  for  ourselves  a like  idea,  and  work 
upon  the  same  principles,  and  in  the  same  taste.”  Read, 

ready  definition  of  the  Ideal  in  painting,  which  is  by  indicating 
ite  reverse, — the  design  of  the  Dutch  school. 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


363 


mark,  learn,  and  inwardly  digest  this  : it  is  the  principle  of 
true  excellence. 

To  IMPASTE,  (impastare,  Ital.,  empdter,  Fr.)  To 
paint  with  thick  color.  See  Chapter  vii.,  Part  II. 

IMPASTING,  (impastatura,  etc., Ital.  empdtement,¥r.) 
Thick-painting. — A better  word  than  this  participial  sub- 
stantive would  be  Impasiation  ; but  I believe  that  this  word 
is  confined  with  us,  as  in  French,  to  the  art  of  the  plasti- 
cian. 

The  Italians  use  their  analogous  words  as  in  impasto,  be- 
low;  and  the  French  employ  empdtement  at  times 
with  a similar  breadth  of  meaning,  which  is  the  mode  in 
which  the  Flemish  connoisseur  De  Burtin  uses  it  in  the 
passage  I have  translated  from  him,  in  Chapter  x..  Part  II., 
where  I have  rendered  the  phrase  by  a circumlocution. 

IMPASTO.  (Ital.)  This  is  what  in  English  is  called 
Surface,  though  the  Italian  word  is  quite  as  often  used. 
It  expresses  the  appearance,  arising  from  the  manner,  good 
or  bad,  common  or  peculiar,  of  laying  on  or  spreading  the 
colors,  which  is  presented  by  the  paint  of  a picture  re- 
garded without  reference  to  light  or  dark,  hue,  tint,  or 
shade  ; though  not  without  consideration  of  the  nature  of 
the  object  represented, — for  this  will  materially  vary  it 
with  any  skilful  artist.  We  say  a good  or  bad  impasto, 
thick  or  thin  impasto,  solid,  meagre,  rich,  poor,  labored 
impasto,  etc.,  etc.  But  if  you  use  this  word  instead  of 
surface,  do  not  say  for  it  impasta,  nor  impaslura  for  impas^ 


.364 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICT.ONARY 


tatura,  which  is  used  in  the  same  manner  : “ impastura  * 
(an  instance  of  which  unlucky  misapplication  you  will 
see  in  a letter  from  a lady-artist,  published  at  the  end  of 
Ilayter’s  Perspective)  means  tlie  pastern  of  a horse  ; and 
“ impasta  ” is  the  feminine  of  the  adjective  impasto, — unfed^ 
vnthoutfood.  Such  errors  are  easily  fallen  into  for  want 
of  attention.  Many  years  ago  an  Italian  gentleman  of 
great  accomplishments  expressed  to  the  writer  his  surprise 
that  Milton,  who  was  an  Italian  scholar,  should  have  written 
11  Penseroso  when  there  is  no  such  word  as  penseroso  in 
the  language,  though  it  has  pensieroso  and  pensoso. 

To  return,  and  to  conclude.  Mr.  Haydon,  whom  I 
have  often  quoted,  I trust  to  the  advantage  of  the  pupil, 
says : “ The  feeling  for  a surface  cannot  be  taught ; it  is 
intuitive  ; and  is  visible  in  the  very  first  essay.”  An  incon- 
testible  truth  ; though  it  would  not  seem  to  have  been 
bought  so  in  the  time  of  Reynolds. 

INCARNADINE,  (incarnadin,  Fr.)  Of  the  rose- 
tint  of  flesh. — The  Italian  corresponding  epithet  is  Incar- 
natino  ; from  which  might  be  formed,  and  it  seems  to  me 
with  propriety,  resting  on  the  Horatian  maxim  {semper  licvit, 
etc.),  an  excellent  synonym  of  fine  tone  for  the  purpose  of 
the  poet,  and  not  unuseful  to  the  painter. 

INCARNATE.  (incarnat,Fr.,incarnato,Jta.\.)  Johnson 
^ells  us  that  this  word  is  used  in  Scotland  for  a “ deep  red 
color,  from  its  resemblance  to  a flesh-color.”  He  should 
have  written  rather,  rose-red.  Wo  know  not  that  it  is  a 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


365 


word  used  by  English  artists  ; but  it  is  cer  tainly  useful : 
and  either  in  this  form,  or  in  that  of  incarnadine  (which 
see  above),  such  an  adjective  is  necessary.  The  French 
however  distinguish  them,  making  incarnate  to  express  a 
color  between  the  hue  of  a cherry  and  that  of  a rose, 
while  incarnadine  denotes  the  same  color,  but  of  a feebler 
tone. 

INGANNI.  (Ital.)  Deceptions,  petty  illusions,  in 
painting.  Tiie  story  of  Zeuxis  and  the  Grapes  furnishes 
a familiar  instance.  To  aim  seriously  to  produce  such 
effects  is  certainly  the  mark  of  littleness  of  soul,  of  a 
vanity  that  is  “ tickled  with  a straw,”  and  is  likewise  to 
mistake  the  true  end  of  painting. 

INTAGLIO.  (Ital.)  The  Italians  use  this  term  to 
express  any  kind  of  engraving,  any  work  that  is  cut  in, 
intagliated,  so  to  speak,  in  metal,  wood,  or  other  suitable 
material,  with  the  chisel,  graver,  aquafortis,  etc.,  excluding, 
however,  from  their  intagliatori,  sculptors  {scultori).  In 
English  the  word  is  adopted  to  signify  exclusively  an  en- 
graving in  gems,  in  which  the  figure  or  figures  are  cut 
hollow.  Thus  the  intaglio  is  the  reverse  of  the  cammeo  ; 
and  the  crest  upon  your  seal  is  properly,  even  in  English, 
an  intaglio.  But  the  word  has  come  to  be  applied,  dis- 
tinctively, to  antique  gems  cut  hollow,  and  is  rarely  ever 
used  for  a modern  anaglyph.  See  Cammeo. 

INTONACO.  See  Fresco. 


INTONE.  See  Tone, 


36G 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONAR7 


ISABELLE.  (Fr.)  Tliis  word  is  occasionally  used 
by  FiOglish  writers  to  express  ludicrously  yet  politely  a 
dingy,  dirty  yellow. white.  According  to  M.  de  Monta- 
bert,  an  isabelle  horse  (to  which  animal  the  epithet  is  par- 
ticularly applied)  is  nearly  of  the  color  of  cojfee-and-milk. 
The  color,  isabelle,  “ seems  then  to  be  composed  of  light 
violet  and  light  orange,  or,  if  you  please,  of  yellow  ochre, 
violet  lake,  and  white.” 

The  Italians  have  the  epithet,  sauro  ; from  which  the 
French  get  their  saure,  and  we  ultimately  perhaps  our 
sorel.  It  is  applied  in  like  manner  to  the  coat  of  a horse, 
and  they  say  as  we  do,  ‘‘  sauro  chtaro,”  bright  sorel,  “ sauro 
abbruciato,^’  dark  (burnt)  sorel,  and  define  it  as  a hue  be- 
tween a brown  or  dark  gray,  and  tawny.  The  corre- 
sponding term  in  French  for  sauro  is  alezan,  which  is  also 
confined  to  horses,  and  answers  exactly  to  our  sorel. 
Finally,  the  Italians,  while  they  say  un  bel  cavallo  sauro, 
as  the  French  do  un  bel  isabelle,  and  as  we  might,  but  do 
not,  a Jine  horse,  an  isabelle, — a beautiful  isabelle,  and  the 
like,  use  also  Isabella  sauro,  as  we  might,  very  happily, 
say  an  isabelle  sorel,  or  better,  an  isabel  sorel,  to  indicate  a 
yellow -brownish  white,  or,  in  the  expressive  phrase  of 
M.  de  Montabert,  “ couleur  cafe  au  lait,”  a color  like 
mingled  coffee  and  milk. 


L. 


LABORED.  Said,  disparagingly,  of  a work  in  which 


OF  IBIPORTANT  TERMS. 


367 


the  pains  that  has  been  taken  is  too  perceptible.  The 
French  say  stente,  after  the  Italian  stentato. 

LAME — is  said  of  a figure  in  whose  members  the 
harmony  of  proportion,  and  proportion  itself  have  been 
neglected. 

LARGE.  See  Breadth. 

LAYFIGURE  ; LAYMAN.  Mannekin— (which  see). 
See  Chapter  xxii.,  Part  I. 

LAZULINE.  Another  name  for  Ultramarine,  as  made 
of  the  lazulite ; and,  I may  add,  a name  even  more 
euphonious,  and  perfectly  expressive,  which  “ ultrama- 
rine,” as  I have  shown  in  the  treatise  (Chapter  ii..  Part 
I.),  is  not  at  all. 

LAZZT, — in  Italian,  are  the  buffoonery,  or  Tom- fool 
gesticulations,  which  low  comedians  have  in  all  times  em- 
ployed to  excite  the  laughter  of  the  vulgar  part  of  the 
spectators.  Lazzi  may  therefore  be  used  figuratively  to 
express — what  anyone  may  see  in  but  too  many  pieces 
of  every  Exhibition. 

M.  de  Montabert,  however,  thus  defines  the  word,  and 
explains  more  mildly  its  figurative  use  in  the  language  of 
the  artist : “ Lazzi,  an  Italian  word  wnich  signifies  the 
mute  play  of  a valet  of  comedy.*  The  phrases,  painter  and 
painting  of  lazzis,  have  been  used  for  painting  of  routine,  of 
commonplaces,  of  manner  and  not  of  sentiment.” 

* This  is  its  sense  as  a French  word.  See  the  Dictionary  of  the 
Academy. 


368 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


Tn  whatever  sense  it  be  used,  it  seems  an  inadvertence 
on  the  part  of  that  philosophical  and  critical  author,  to  have 
written  lazzls^  while  considering  the  word  “Italian;’’  for 
lazzi  is  in  itself  a noun  of  the  plural  number,  and  is  not 
deficient  in  the  regular  singular,  lazzo. 

You  may  say  therefore  with  perfect  propriety  : “ What 
a degradation  of  the  art ! this  picture  is  a mere  Zazzo;” 
or,  “ It  is  to  be  regretted,  that,  with  such  a pencil,  this 
pamter  should  have  wasted  his  time  on  mere  lazzi : such 
low  and  trivial  subjects  find  no  proper  place  in  an  art, 
that  rarely  admits  the  comic  without  loss,  not  only  of 
dignity  but  of  interest.” 

LICKED — a vulgar  but  significant  epithet,  applied  to  a 
painting  in  which  a hard,  uniform,  and  labored  smoothness, 
and  generally  without  solidity,  always  without  art,  has 
been  mistaken  hr  finish.  The  French  use  the  same  ex- 
pression ileche),  and  sometimes  the  Italians  also  (Jeccato). 
It  is  a very  strong  and  contemptuous  phrase,  and  is  only 
to  be  used  {if  used  at  all)  of  a painting  that  betrays  a posi- 
tive want  both  of  art  and  taste. 

LINEAR-PERSPECTIVE.  See  Aerial-perspective. 

LOADING.  See  Charging. 

LOCAL.  The  local  color  of  any  object  is  the  general 
and  (so  to  speak)  inherent  color  of.the  object,  unmodified  by 
light  or  shade,  demitint  or  reflection,  by  the  atmosphere  in 
perspective,  or  in  short  by  any  accident  whatever. 


or  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


M. 

M ^ CHINE.  Grande  Machine  (Great  Machine)  is  the 
stiange  and  seemingly  cant-name  which  the  French  give 
to  a great  picture,  too  often  without  regard  to  its  merit ; 
for  with  them,  as  with  other  people,  grandeur  means  fre- 
quently nothing  more  than  geometrical  extent. 

MANIKIN;  MANNEKIN.  {mannequm,  Fr.)  Lay- 
figure  ; and,  in  the  older  English  writers.  Layman.  See 
Chapter  xxii..  Part  I.  As  manikin  is  also  used  in  genera? 
language  (by  Shakspeare,  e.  g.),  as  a ludicrous  diminutiv* 
of  man,  it  becomes  doubly  significant. 

MAQUETTE.  Marquettes,”  says  De  Montabert 
‘‘  and  not  maqueites ; little  loaves  of  wax.  The  little 
figures  modeled  in  clay  by  painters,  for  their  pictures,  are 
called  marquettes,  a name  derived  from  those  which  are 
modeled  in  wax.” 

MASSES.  If  you  consider  a picture  as  made  up  of  a 
number  of  principal  parts,  which  parts  are  the  aggregate 
or  assemblage  of  minor  parts,  those  principal  parts  are 
what  are  called  the  masses,  as  the  minor  parts  are  the 
details.  And  to  mass  a part,  is  to  reject  those  minutiae 
which  seem  to  cut  it  up  into  little  pieces.  Thus,  to  adopt 
the  illustration  afforded  by  the  passage  cited  under 
Breadth,  if  you  take  the  forearm  as  it  is  presented  by  a 
skilful  dissecter,  when  he  has  stripped  it  of  the  integu- 
17* 


370 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


nients,  and  cleaned  up  (as,  if  we  forget  not  our  quondam 
lessons,  the  act  is  termed)  each  individual  muscle,  you 
will  see  as  it  were  a bundle  of  tapering  bands  of  flesh, 
whether  you  view  the  arm  inside,  outside,  or  laterally,  but 
appearing  more  numerous  on  the  outside.  Now,  if  you 
represent  all  of  these  muscles  with  equal  anatomical  dis- 
tinctness, merely  veiling  their  joint  protuberances  with  a 
skin,  you  fall  into  the  error  of  Michelangelo  ; if,  on  the 
contrary,  you  give  prominence  only  to  the  principal,  the 
result  will  be  to  sink  the  details  and  bring  forward  the 
mass  ; and  this  is  called  massing  the  part,  and  is  in  fact 
imitating  nature,  not  anatomy.  (See  Breadth.)  It  is  also 
said  of  the  management  of  the  clairobscure,  and  of  the 
coloring. — For  anything  like  a skilful  application  of  this 
great  principle  of  grandeur,  practice  and  enlightened  ob- 
servation must  be  added  to  diligent  study : it  can  therefore 
never  be  expected  in  a novice. 

MEALY — is  said  of  colors  that  appear  as  if  they  had 
been  sprinkled  with  meal  or  covered  with  a white  dust, 
and  of  course  dull  and  faded,  both  in  light  and  shadow. 
The  French  adopt  the  same  easy  metaphor. 

MEDIUM.  The  name  given  to  a vehicle  that  is  in- 
tendt3d  to  enable  the  artist  to  combine  the  advantages  of 
both  oil  and  water  painting.  Of  this  kind  was  the  foul, 
opaque  mixture  sold  in  this  city  some  few  years  since 
under  the  imposing  name  of  “ Van  Eyck’s  Glass  Medium,” 
{borax  being  one  of  the  ingredients). — Medium  is  a term 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


371 


borrowed  from  chemistry,  where  it  signifies  a booy  whose 
addition  to  two  others,  that  of  themselves  have  no  affinity, 
causes  them  to  combine  ; as  the  alkali  which  produces 
the  union  of  water  and  fat  or  oil,  in  the  compound,  soap. 

METOPE,  {metopa  : Vitruv.)  The  Doric  frieze  is 
divided  at  equal  intervals  by  ornaments  called  triglyphs, 
consisting  of  two  vertical  channels,  or  glyphs,  with  two 
half-channels  at  the  sides,  separated  from  each  other  and 
from  the  half-channels  by  three  plane  surfaces.  The 
square  space  between  each  two  of  these  triglyphs  is  called 
a metope,  and  is  ornamented  variously  by  figures.  The 
metopes  of  the  Parthenon  represent  the  contests  of  the  Cen- 
taurs with  the  companions  of  Theseus,  and  are  supposed 
by  Visconti  and  others  to  have  been  in  many  instances 
touched  by  the  hand  of  Phidias  himself,  under  whose  su- 
perintendence all  the  reliefs  of  the  temple  are  known  to 
have  been  chiseled.  These  form  part  of  the  famous 
Elgin  Marbles ; and  hence  their  frequent  mention  by 
artist-writers. 

MEZZORILIEVO.  (Ital.)  See  RELIEF. 

MINIATURIST,  (miniaturiste,  Fr.)  Miniaturepainter. 

MINUTE.  A measure  of  subdivision  for  the  parts  or 
divisions  into  which  artists  distribute,  for  artistic  measure- 
ment, the  human  body.  It  is,  however,  quite  indetermi. 
nate,  and  therefore  can  convey  no  fixed  idea  of  dimension. 
Thus  the  Italian  designers  (as  Morghen)  will  divide  the 


372 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


head  into  twelve  parts,  and  each  part  into  six  minutes 
whereas  the  more  usual  division  with  English  artists  is  of 
four  parts,  and  twelve  minutes  to  each  part.  Some  painters 
instead  of  minute  adopt  module,  the  term  of  the  architects, 
which  is  the  same  thing. 

MODEL.  “ It  is  important  not  to  employ  indifferently 
the  word  model.  When  we  say  the  great  models,  we  are 
readily  understood  ; but,  when  we  say  the  model,  it  re- 
mains to  show  whether  the  model  be  an  archetype  that  we 
propose  to  copy,  or  only  an  individual  whom  we  design  to 
embellish  while  imitating  him.  When  we  say  the  indi- 
vidual model,  we  give  it  clearly  to  be  understood  that  the 
question  is  of  a living  model.  Therefore,  to  design  after 
the  model  means  quite  as  much  after  a statue  of  plaster,  as 
after  a living  individual.  We  should  then  explain  our- 
selves, and  say,  after  the  living  model,  or  individual  model, 
or  again,  after  a model-archetype.’’  (De  Montabert.) 

MODULE.  See  Minute. 

MONOCHROMATIC,  or  MONOCHROIC,  (which 
latter  is  the  word  with  Aristotle.)  Of  one  color.  Said  of 
a certain  kind  of  paintings  (see  Chiaroscuro)  ; though  the 
epithet  is  capable  of  more  extension,  as  in  fact  an  engrav- 
ing, for  example,  or  a crayon-drawing,  may  be  very  prop- 
erly styled  monochromatic. 

In  the  same  kind  of  phrase,  painting  with  a plurality 
of  colors  has  in  contradistinction  been  iermed  polychromatic , 
which  might  have  read,  polychroic. 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


373 


So  we  might  say,  with  equal  propriety,  on  occasion, 
dichroic  or  dichromic  (of  two  colors,  or  having  a double 
color) ; poikilochroic  (of  various  colors,  variegated).  Any 
such  term,  when  introduced  with  due  modesty,  and  only 
on  a proper  occasion,  might  be  added  from  the  Greek, 
which,  from  the  peculiar  genius  of  the  language,  is  in- 
exhaustible in  compound-epithets.  Thus  we  might  say 
rodochroic  (though  it  is  not  so  beautiful  as  our  rosycolored 
and  roseate),  and  psapharochroic,  which,  on  occasions  when 
it  would  hot  be  out  of  keeping,  that  is,  where  the  word 
would  not  be  too  big  for  its  companions,  might  happily  take 
the  place  of  dirty,  and  of  the  less  vulgar  epithetybwZ,  in 
color. 

MORBIDEZZA.  A word  which  the  Italians  use  to 
express  that  quality  in  coloring  that  gives  at  once  the  soft- 
ness, pulpiness,  suppleness,  and  tender  smoothness  of  flesh. 
Thus  the  adjective  morhido,  which  signifies  soft,  tender, 
is  made,  as  a term  of  painting,  synonymous  with  carnoso, 
(literally,  fleshy)  and  pastoso,  (literally  paste-like,  that  may 
be  kneaded  like  paste). 

As  its  sense  is  opposed  to  all  crudeness,  and  hardness, 
morbidezza  corresponds,  though  not  perfectly,  with  our 
mellowness,  which  is  a word  of  similar  (but  more  general) 
application,  and,  in  so  far  as  it  is  figurative,  of  greater 
power. 

The  French  too  use  the  word  morbidesse  (borrowed  from 
the  above  Italian  term),  and  the  corresponding  adjective 
morbide.  Thus  Bouvier  : and  his  explanatory  comment 


374 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


on  the  word  renders  its  sense  and  application  with  great 
clearness.  “The  carnations,”  he  says,  “of  a young 
woman  of  very  fair  and  fresh  complexion,  and  those  of  a 
fine  child,  have  a great  deal  of  morhidesse  : they  seem  to 
the  eye  as  though  they  would  be  soft  and  velvety  if 
touched.” 

MORDORE.  The  French  give  this  name  to  a color 
“ demi-obscure,  in  which  orange  is  predominant.” 

MOSAIC,  (mos a'ique,  Fr.,  musaico,lta.\.)  The  remote 
derivation  of  this  word,  which  is  of  Latin  origin,  seems  to 
be  musivum  (sc.  opus),  neuter  of  the  adjective  musivus,  the 
same  as  museus,  from  musa,  muse.  The  term  therefore 
does  not  indicate  the  nature  of  the  materials  used,  as  is 
said  to  have  been  the  case  with  the  Greeks  that  introduced 
the  art  to  the  Romans, — their  word  for  musiva  (mosaics) 
being,  according  to  the  learned,  psephotheteta,  and  for 
musivarn  (workers  in  mosaic)  psephothetai,  from  psepJios 
{pelble,  and  the  like)  and  the  derivatives  of  tithemai  (the 
verb,  to  place,  etc.), — but  simply  their  exact  and  harmonious 
adaptation.  A mosaic  is  an  ornamental  work  consisting 
of  a number  of  cubes  of  various  colored  stone,  colored 
glass,  or  other  suitable  material,  more  or  less  diminutive, 
imbedded  in  a composite  cement,  and  susceptible  of  re- 
ceiving a uniform  and,  where  requisite,  a polished  surface, 
which,  as  the  cubes  are  of  equal  color  throughout,  may 
be  renewed  from  time  to  time  without  difficulty.  The  size 
of  the  work  is  not  considered  in  this  definition ; whether 
the  pavement  of  a palace,  or  the  broach  for  a lady’s  breast 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


375 


it  is  still  a mosaic ; nor  yet  is  the  pictorial  efTect  of  the 
colored  surface  which  makes  the  embellishment ; for  this 
may  represent  figures  of  animate  or  inanimate  objects,  or 
no  determinate  figures  at  all.  It  was  an  ornament  in 
great  request  by  the  luxurious  of  olden  Rome,  especially 
in  the  time  of  the  emperors,  for  the  decoration  of  every 
kind  of  edifice ; and  to  this  day  they  continue  to  discover 
in  the  ruins  of  the  imperial  baths  and  elsewhere  magnifi- 
cent specimens,  and  in  the  finest  preservation.  In  Pom- 
peii mosaic  pavements  may  be  said  to  have  been  universal. 

Revived  in  modern  times,  its  most  important  use  was  the 
imitation  of  the  works  of  the  epic  painter,  and  the  fifth 
epoch  of  the  Roman  school  was,  according  to  Lanzi,  the 
period  when  the  art  was  in  its  greatest  perfection.  The 
basilic  of  St.  Peter  presents  sufficient  evidence  that  cost 
was  not  considered  in  the  desire  to  possess  these  imperish- 
able copies  of  valuable  pictures.  And  though  there  are 
men  who  can  turn  from  the  Transfiguration  of  Raphael 
to  look  with  patience  at  its  imitation  in  mosaic,  it  is  this 
character  of  extreme  solidity  that  strikes  me  as  its  sole 
recommendation  for  such  purposes.  Who  indeed  can  re- 
flect, without  a beating  of  the  heart,  on  what  might  have 
been  the  fortune  of  modern  art,  had  Apelles  and  his  great 
compeers  had  their  best  pictures  thus  copied  in  materials 
that  defy  the  ordinary  agents  of  destruction  ? 

Mosaics  are  called  by  the  Italians,  musaici ; lavori  a 
musaico  ; opere  musaiche,  etc. 

MOSAICIST.  (mosaiciste,  Fr.)  Painter  in  mosaic. 


376 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


N. 


NAKED.  Though  this  and  nude  are  precisely  the 
same  word  in  different  shapes,  yet,  in  art,  custom  seems  to 
have  drawn  a distinction  between  them,  the  former  being 
so  used  as  generally  to  convey  disapprobation,  which  the 
less  familiar  Latin  form  does  not.*  The  distinction  how- 
ever, if  invariably  maintained,  might  be  made  very  useful ; 
and  to  follow  it,  I may  remark,  that  many  figures  that  are 
partially  clothed  are  often  more  naked  than  those  that  are 
perfectly  nude. 


NEGATIVE, 

NEUTRAL, 


^ as  applied  to  colors. 


See  Positive. 


* Indeed  it  is  a very  common  though  curious  effect  of  mental 
association,  that  certain  images  are  perfectly  revolting  when  clothed 
in  their  familiar  name,  which  put  into  a stranger  dress  give  offence 
to  nobody.  There  are  certain  ideas  that  in  the  plain  and  primitive 
language  of  the  vulgar  never  pass  the  lips  of  a man  of  refinement, 
that  he  would  blush  to  present  in  such  a shape  even  to  his  own 
imagination,  and  that  in  such  a shape  he  has  never  dreamed  of  giving 
utterance  to,  if  a noble  spirit,  even  in  his  boyhood ; but  drape 
them  after  a politer  fashion,  and  your  man  of  refinement  hesitates 
no  longer.  So  much  are  grossness,  indecency,  lubricity,  vice  even, 
not  only  mollified,  hy  a phrase,  but  made  to  lose  a great  part,  some- 
times the  whole,  of  their  real  chai’acter — in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 
And  to  return,  ere  I commit  myself,  it  is  thus  that  if  you  say  of  a 
picture,  The  figures  in  it  are  all  naked,  ten  to  one  you  will  startle 
half  your  hearers,  and  the  women  among  them  will  be  afraid  to 
visit  it,  but  merely  say  that  they  are  nude,  and  no  one  dreams  of 
impropriety. 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


377 


NIMBUS.  The  old  and  the  classical  name  for  what  in 
more  modern  art  has  been  called  Glory  ; to  wit,  the  lumi- 
nous ring,  whether  broad  or  slender,  radiated  or  open,  or 
the  circular  disk,  which  crowns  the  head  of  a saint  or  of 
a divine  personage,  sometimes  very  improperly,  in  pictures. 

This  is  not,  as  might  be  supposed,  an  invention  of  pious 
Christians,  but,  like  almost  all  the  observances  of  the  Romish 
Church,  a pure  inheritance  from  the  idolatry  of  heathen- 
ism. The  Greeks,  in  order  to  protect  their  statues  (from 
the  filth  of  birds,  as  w’e  are  told,  and  doubtless  also  from 
the  weather),  put  on  the  head  a dish  of  metal,  which  from 
its  shape  they  called  meniscus  (a  crescent  or  imperfect 
moon,  from  mene,  moon  : Aristophanes,  indeed,  uses  mene 
itself),  and  which  we  may  suppose  to  have  resembled  in 
form,  as  in  effect,  the  broad  brim  of  a Leghorn  hat.  This 
awkward  contrivance  came  at  last  to  be  considered  an 
attribute  of  the  deities  and  deified  heroes  whose  images  it 
shadowed  ; and,  adopted  by  the  Romans,  it  took  the  name 
of  nimbus  (which  in  one  of  its  primitive  senses  signifies  a 
cloud)  as  representing  perhaps  that  luminous  atmosphere 
(the  “ nubes  divina  ” of  Servius)  with  which  it  seems  natu- 
ral to  invest  the  presence  of  divinity,  and  of  which  the 
poets  have  made  such  graphic  use,  as  is  seen  in  the — 
*•  pura  per  noctem  in  luce  refulsit  Alma  parens,  confessa 
deam  ” of  Virgil.  Thus,  that  Raphael  of  the  poets  de« 
■cribes  Minerva,  as 

. . . “ nimbo  effulgens  et  Gorgone  SJBva 

In  cloud  effulgent  and  with  Gorgon  dire: 


378 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


which  the  old  commentators,  who  were  neither  poets  noi 
painters,  would  seem  to  consider  as  indicating  a facsimile 
of  the  nimbus  of  artists  (though,  it  is  true,  Virgil  mighi 
have  had  his  eye  upon  such  an  image).  However,  to 
finish  the  history  of  the  glory,  Isidore,  who  speaks  also  of 
the  nimbus  of  the  painters,  tells  us  that  this  name  was 
likewise  given  to  a gold-embroidered  band,  worn  by  women 
on  their  foreheads, — to  make  that  part  appear  fashionably 
smaller,  as  Arnobius  (cited  by  the  commentators  on  Plautus) 
intimates,  classing  it  with  the  other  ladylike  vanities  of 
boring  their  ears,  and  adding  depth  and  darkness  to  their 
eyes  by  paint,  as  the  coquettes  of  the  East  (and  of  some 
other  places)  do  to  this  day.  Hence  one  of  Plautus’s  women 
of  bad  life  is  described  as  nimbata,  wearing  a nimbus. 
“ To  such  base  uses  may  we  come  at  last,  Horatio  !” 

It  is  a wonder  to  me  that  with  all  his  technical  phrases 
the  painter  has  never  thought  of  adopting  nimb, — not  that 
such  a monosyllable  would  have  anything  to  recommend 
it,  apart  from  its  derivation  and  definiteness. 

O. 

OILING-OUT.  Applying  oil  to  the  colors  when  dry, 
in  order  to  bring  them  out  in  their  proper  tone,  or  to  restore 
their  transparency  and  brilliancy  when  dull : in  a word, 
varnishing  witli  simple  oil. 

OLIVE.  The  darkest  of  the  tertiary  colors;  being 
composed  of  purple  and  green. 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


379 


OLYMPIAD.  With  the  Greeks  a period  of  four  years, 
at  the  end  of  which  time,  that  is  every  fifth  year,  they 
assembled  at  Olympia,  to  celebrate  the  games  thence 
called,  in  honor  of  Jove.  By  remembering  that  the  firs< 
year  of  the  first  olympiad  is  776  before  Christ,  you  will 
be  enabled  to  read  the  history  of  Greek  art  with  a suffi- 
ciently clear  understanding  of  the  dates. 


P. 


PASTEL-PAINTING.  Crayonpainting.  The  pencils 
of  colors,  that  with  us  and  the  English  obtain  the  name  of 
crayons  from  their  form,  are  called  by  the  French  'pastels 
from  their  composition.  The  Italians  say,  and  for  a like 
reason,  pastelli,  which  is  probably  the  origin  of  the  French 
word  ; and  pastello  is  a diminutive  of  pasta,  paste. 

Pastel-painting  is  quite  modern  ; its  date  going  back  not 
much  over  a century  and  a half,  or  1685. 

PASTICHE.  (pastiche,  Fr.,  pasticcio,  Ital.)  “A 
name  given  to  the  pictures  which  painters  sometimes  make 
in  imitation  of  certain  other  painters,  whose  manner  they 
copy  so  well  that  the  imitation  is  often  attributed  to  the 
painter  imitated.  A great  many  pastiches  have  been  made 
of  Teniers,  and  Teniers  himself  was  the  most  skilful 
painter  of  pastiches P (De  Montab.)  Pasticcio  is,  lite- 
rally, our  word  pasty. 

* It  is  likewise  a term  of  musical  artists,  and  is  applied  by  the 
Italians  to  a composition,  whether  petty  opera,  or  otherwise. 


380 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


Pastiche  has  become  naturalized  in  the  language  of  Eng. 
lish  art,  yet  its  plural  is  a little  awkward.  As  it  will 
therefore  always  have  something  of  a foreign  sound,  it 
may  be  more  eligible  to  use  the  Italian  word,  when  re- 
quiring the  plural  number,  and  say  pasticci.  Dr.  Raspe 
indeed  used  also  its  singular,  and  made  a very  good  com- 
pound  with  it.  “ Those  treacherous  pasticcio-painters,^^  he 
writes,  “ who  make  Raphaels,  Correggios,  and  Paul- Vero- 
neses by  the  dozen.’’  Still,  pastich-painters  would  have 
looked  and  sounded  much  more  English. 

PATINA — originally  used  to  signify  the  rust  or  mold, 
the  “ veneranda  rubigo,”  with  which  time,  the  atmosphere, 
or  long  inhumation,  have  coated  so  many  of  the  remains 
of  ancient  art  in  bronze  and  marble,  was  then  applied  to 
designate  likewise  the  supposed  effects  of  time  on  the  sur- 
face  of  pictures,  an  appearance,  whether  of  varnish  or 
crust,  that  is  known  to  be  quite  as  often  fabrication  as  the 
green  mold  on  the  little  brenzes,  which  are  manufactured 
by  wholesale  for  the  especial  benefit  of  travellers  in  Italy. 

PIGMENT.  The  language  of  art  would  be  greatly 
improved  in  the  important  point  of  precision,  and  conse- 
quently in  perspicuity,  if  this  word,  or  even  its  vulgar 
synonym,  paint,  were  used  on  all  occasions  where  it  was 

made  up  of  various  pieces  of  various  authors,  or  a hotchpotch  of 
divers  musical  fragments  {pot-pourri).  In  fact  there  is  no  limit, 
othe-r  than  that  set  by  good  sense,  to  the  figurative  application  of 
all  such  terms  in  any  language.  They  are  of  the  class  of  *viial 
may  be  termed  natural  metaphors. 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


381 


meant  to  imply  the  substance  itself  that  gives  the  color. 
But  we  have  chosen  to  follow  the  lead  of  languages  les.s 
copious  than  our  own ; and,  rich  in  three  words,  two  of 
which  have  but  a single  definite  meaning,  while  the  third 
is  used  with  a various  application,  we  have  thoughtlessly 
abandoned  this  advantage,  and  adhered  almost  exclusively 
to  the  one  word  that  is  indefinite.  It  is  a natural  error, 
however,  that  cannot  be  condemned  by  the  philologist, 
however  it  may  be  regretted  by  the  didactician. 

PLASTICIAN.  (plashcien,  Fr.)  A modeler  in  plas- 
ter, or  in  any  other  plastic  substance  {clay,  loax,  etc.)  that 
may  be  used  in  the  art  called  plastic.  Pliny’s  term  for 
plastician  is  plasta.  Plasles  (which  is  pure  Greek)  is  also 
used  by  Latin  writers-;  and  the  art  itself  was  called 
plastice. 


POINT  OF  DISTANCE.  / ^ rj  ■ . 7 r • 

POINT  OF  SIGHT  V Jtiorizontal  Ltine. 

POLYCHROMATIC.  See  Monochromatic. 

PORTCRAYON,  (porte-crayon,  Fr.)  The  artist’s 
instrument  for  holding  his  chalks  or  crayons. — The  French 
use  the  word  also  for  what  we  call  a pencilcase  ; and  it  is 
very  foolishly  innovated  in  English,  since  we  have  a word  of 
our  own  much  better  for  our  service  in  every  respect ; that 
is, — crayon-holder  ; porte-crayon  means  no  more.  The  Ital- 
ians have  also  their  vernacular  term,  matitatojo  (from 
malila,  crayon). 

POSITIVE.  Any  of  the  primary  colors,  or  any  com- 


382 


EXPLAN/ TOR V AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


bination  of  them  or  of  their  compounds  in  which  a prf 
dominating  hue  is  to  be  distinguished,  is  called  a positive 
color  ; as  any  combination  that  produces  neutrality  makes 
what  are  called  neutrals  or  negative  colors. 

PRIMARY.  Those  colors  which  cannot  themselves  be 
made  by  any  combination  of  others,  yet  from  whose  com- 
bination. all  others  in  nature  are  derived,  are  called  primary 
colors.  They  are  Yellow,  Red,  and  Blue.  The  combina- 
tion of  any  two  of  them  produces  the  secondaries  ; which  are 
Orange,  Purple,  and  Green.  And  from  the  union  of  any  two 
of  these  secondaries  is  derived  again  the  class  of  tertiary 
colors ; Citrine,  Olive,  Russet.  The  primaries  are  also 
called  the  primitive  colors,  and  again  entire  colors,  and  yet 
again  virgin  colors  ; and  they  may  further  be  termed  the 
mother-colors  {couleurs-mcres')  : all  of  which  appellations 
imply, — either  their  elementary  character  ; or  their  simpli- 
city and  purity,  as  opposed  to  colors  in  any  way  mixed  or 
broken ; or  finally  their  power  of  originating,  by  inter® 
combination,  all  the  other  colors,  and  hues,  or,  by  the  addition 
of  either  the  neutral  white  or  the  neutral  Mack,  which  are 
-he  extremes  of  light  and  dark,  every  tint  and  every  shade. 

PRIMITIVE  colors.  See  Primary. 

PRINCIPAL  RAY.  (A  term  of  Perspective.)  See 
Horizontal  Line, 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


383 


R. 

REDUCTION.  The  usual,  as  well  as  the  eimplest 
iuethod,  of  reducing  in  the  copy  of  a picture  the  size  of 
the  original,  so  as  to  preserve  its  exact  proportions  in  de- 
lineation, is  by  means  of  threads,  fastened  to  the  four  sides 
of  the  frame  on  which  the  canvas  is  stretched,  and  cross- 
ing each  other  in  vertical  and  horizontal  lines  at  right 
angles,  so  as  to  form  a number  of  perfect  squares.  Now 
the  squares  of  the  network,  thus  formed,  being  made,  on 
the  canvas  of  the  intended  copy,  in  such  proporti^jj  to  the 
squares  on  the  original,  as  the  whole  surface  of  the  original 
bears  to  the  whole  surface  of  the  canvas  of  the  copy,  the 
contours  of  the  objects  which  are  drawn  in  imitation  of 
those  of  the  original,  square  for  square,  will  of  course  be 
the  diminished  or  reduced  counterpart  of  the  latter. 

And  so,  by  the  same  contrivance,  a copy  may  be  made 
either  larger  than  the  original  picture,  or  its  exact  coun- 
terpart. 

Of  course,  as  the  only  requisite  for  such  a performance 
is  mechanical  facility,  it  is  not  to  be  practised  by  a student 
who  aims,  while  copying,  at  improvement  in  design ; but 
where  time  and  labor  are  the  chief  consideration,  the 
above  method,  like  others  of  similar  object,  is  useful  to 
save  both,  and  has  been  at  all  times  in  great  favor  with 
artists. 

RELIEF,  {relief,  Fr.,  rilievo,  Ital.)  The  same  dis- 
regard of  purity  that  has  made  lelles-lettres,  without  the 


384 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


least  necessity,  a word  of  the  English  language,  has  like 
wise  incorporated,  along  witli  a multitude  of  other  harba- 
risms,  the  French  term  of  art,  bas-relief;  which  has  main- 
tained its  place,  notwithstanding  the  difficulty  that  attends 
its  pronunciation  in  tlie  midst  of  English  words  (where  it 
must  either  stand  in  its  proper  character  as  an  alien,  or 
take,  as  naturalized,  a barbarous  and  unmeaning  sound), 
and  despite  of  the  anomaly  it  presents,  from  the  fact  that 
its  sister-term,  high-relief  {never  haut-relief  though  often 
alto  rilievo),  is  pure  English.  The  French,  more  jealous 
of  the  purity  of  their  national  tongue,  translate  the  Italian 
phrases  of  the  sculptor,  and  write  bas-relief  haul-relief 
demi-relief,  and  (with  the  prepositions  de  and  en)  tout  relief 
or  still  more  vernacularly,  en  or  de  ronde  bosse.  Let  us 
then  imitate  so  good  a pattern,  and  let  the  vocabulary 
stand,  without  affectation  ('purism),  with  exact  propriety, 
with  perfect  neatness,  and  greatly  increased  significance, 
as  follows : 


Italian  : 

Bassorilievo  ; 
Mezzorilievo  ; 
Alto  Rilievo  ; 

Di  TUTTO  Rilievo  ; 
Di  piENO  Rilievo  ; 


French : English : 

Bas-relief;  Low-relief. 

JDemi-relief  ; Half- relief. 

Haut-relief ; High-relief. 

En  tout  relief ; In  full  re- 

En  'plein  relief ; lief. 

If  you  prefer  the  Italian  terms,  do  not  say  relievo  but 
rilievo : relievo  is  not  Tuscan.  In  the  plural,  write,  and 
say,  bassirilievi  (or  bassi-riHevi),  alti  rilievi,  etc.,  not  basso- 
rilievi  and  the  like. 

Fallo  di  bellissimo  rilievo  (Borgh.) : Of  the  finest  relief. 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERBIS. 


385 


I Consult  the  treatise,  under  the 

proper  head. 

RETOUCHING.  Going  over  a part  that  is  apparently- 
finished,  but  with  which  the  painter  is  dissatisfied.  This 
is  done,  not  unfrequently,  even  after  the  completion  of  the 
picture  ; sometimes  without  removing  the  varnish.  Nay, 
fastidious  painters  have  not  hesitated,  even  after  years 
have  elapsed,  to  retouch  a favorite  picture  in  parts  that 
they  see,  or  fancy,  are  susceptible  of  improvement,  though 
the  consequence  is  frequently  a discordance  of  tone,  from 
the  change  which  in  time  takes  place  in  these  tints  that  are 
set  to  the  key  of  the  general  coloring,  now  become  (in 
tuner’s  phrase)  fiat.  And  it  is  to  the  detection  of  this 
latter  kind  of  retouches,  as  well  as  of  those  which  are  made 
in  the  fitting-up  (it  were  a sin  to  call  it,  in  all  cases,  resto- 
ration) of  old  or  damaged  paintings,  especially  those  that 
are  meant  to  come  under  the  hammer,  that  the  would-be 
connoisseur  is  particularly  careful  to  direct  his  scrutiny. 
Nothing  can  be  nriore  amusing,  than,  at  a public-sale  of 
newly  imported  Correggios,  Rubenses,  and  other  manu- 
factures of  high  name,  to  hear  one  of  these  picture-men, 
•vho  are  more  familiar  with  the  mechanical  part  of  the 
art,  than  with  its  principles  or  theory,  on  going  up  with  his 
nose  close  to  some  notable  pastiche,  exclaim  with  great 
eontempt,  “ It  has  been  retouched  /”  when  perhaps  it  would 
have  been  as  well  to  have  ascertained  in  the  first  place 
whether  the  picture  had  ever  been  worth  retouching. 

The  same  term  is  also  applied  to  the  finishing- touches 
18 


386 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


given  by  eminent  masters  to  works  mainly  executed  by 
their  pupils  after  the  former’s  designs,  and  which,  thus 
completed,  were  to  pass  as  their  own. 

RONDE  BOSSE.  This  is  the  idiomatic  French  for 
the  more  modern  phrases  plein  reliefs  tout  relief,  haut  relief. 
(See  Relief)  Dessiner  d’apres  la  hosse  is  to  design  after 
some  model  of  the  sculptor  or  plastician.  We  have  in 
English  a corresponding  vernacular  phrase  ; to  draw,  or 
study,  from  the  round.  Neither  of  the  expressions  is 
considered  elegant,  in  the  respective  languages  to  which 
they  belong.  Ours  especially  is  little  better  than  pro- 
fessional cant. 

RUSSET.  One  of  the  tertiary  colors.  Its  composition 
is  of  orange  and  purple. 


S. 


SACRIFICE.  To  sacrifise  any  part  or  color  is  to  ob- 
scure or  enfeeble  it,  for  the  sake  of  giving  force,  or  vivacity, 
or  expression,  or  in  short  of  adding  importance  in  any 
particular,  to  another  part  or  color  which  for  some  good 
reason  it  is  desirable  to  make  either  absolutely  or  com- 
paratively principal.  He  who  does  not  know  how,  or 
knowing  cannot  bring  himself,  to  sacrifice  the  less  to  the 
greater  merit,  must  never  hope  to  become  a great  painter, 
or  a great  poet,  or  a great  sculptor,  or  anything  whatever 
that  is  great.  The  principle  is  the  polity  of  life  and  art. 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


387 


SBOZZO.  (Ital. ; same  asa&Jozzo.)  The  first  sketch 
or  rude  draught  for  a picture  ; or  even  the  clay  model  of 
the  sculptor ; for  Raph.  Borghini  uses  the  verb  abbozzare 
to  designate  the  act  of  fashioning  the  latter.  Shozzo  is  one 
of  the  very  few  words  interpolated  by  Webb  in  his  “ In- 
quiry/’ (see  Clairobscure)  ; but  I know  not  that  it  was 
unwisely  done,  seeing  that  the  use  of  this  word,  in  the 
sense  that  he  employs  it  in,  “ rough  draught  for  a paint- 
ing,” would  make  our  nomenclature  complete  for  the  vari- 
ous steps  of  the  painter  towards  the  execution  of  his  pic- 
ture. Thus  we  should  have  sbozzo  corresponding  with  the 
croquis  of  the  French  (see  Deadcoloring),  sketch  for  their 
esquisse,  and  Jirst-painting  or  deadcoloring  answering  to 
ebauche. 

The  innovator  of  this  convenient  term  uses  it  in  the 
plural,  writing  it  sbozzo’s,  in  the  vicious  mode  too  common 
in  our  language,  whose  grammar,  and  grammatical  forms, 
are  but  little  regarded  by  its  writers,  both  English  and 
English-American.  If  you  keep  it  Italian,  say  sbozzi  in 
the  plural ; but  if  you  choose  to  consider  it  English,  do 
not  adopt  the  form  of  the  genitive  singular,  but  write  either 
sbozzoes  or  sbozzos. 

SCHEMA.  “A  word  employed  by  the  Germat 
school,  to  express  the  beauty  which  is  beyond  the  image, 
the  supreme  beauty  which  our  finest  models  or  master- 
pieces leave  us  only  to  suppose,  and  towards  which  all 
men  aspire.”  (De  Montabert.)  This  is  nobly  said. 

SCUMBLE.  Scumbling  might  be  defined,  in  two  words 


388 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


(but  that  they  are  contradictory),  opaque  glazing  ; for  it  is 
the  passing  of  a thin  color,  to  which  white  has  been  added, 
or  some  other  kindred  pigment,  in  fact  the  passing  of  a 
very  thin  lay,  or  veil,  of  opaque  color,  over  a part  whose 
effect  is  to  be  thereby  modified.  This  is  the  sense  in  which 
we  find  it  generally  used  by  the  leading  English  artist- 
writers  ; but  the  significance  of  the  word  does  not  seem, 
as  with  the  term  glazing,  to  belong  to  the  effect  produced, 
but  rather  to  the  action  of  the  pencil  in  producing  it. 
Indeed  in  some  writers  of  the  last  century,  it  is  employed 
absolutely  to  express  a mode  of  manipulation  in  painting, 
without  any  regard  to  the  body  of  the  color  used,  and 
without  confining  it  to  any  particular  intention.  Thus  in 
the  Artist's  Repository,  a respectable  miscellaneous  com- 
pilation of  general  art,  which  I have  cited  once  or  twice 
in  this  vocabulary,  we  find  it  said  : “ The  usual  way  of 
painting  in  oil  is  to  lay  on  the  colors  with  one  pencil,  and 
then  soften  them  into  each  other  with  a clean  tool.  This 
is  termed  scumbling."  And  the  English  translator  of 
Depiles  writes  thus : “ Glazing  is  done  by  colors  transpa- 
rent and  diaphanous,  as  having  but  little  body,  which  are 
thinly  scumbled  with  a fitch  pencil,  over  colors  that  are 
more  staring,  in  order  to  bring  them  down  and  sweeten  them 
into  a harmony  with  those  about  them.’’  Another  exam- 
ple of  the  use  of  this  cant- word,  which,  notwithstanding  its 
employment  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  and  others  high  in 
the  literature  of  painting,  seems  fitter  for  an  artisan  than 
an  artist,  occurs  in  a quotation  on  one  of  our  pages.  See 
note  to  Chapter  vi.,  of  Part  VI.,  (p.  276). 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


389 


SECONDARY  colors.  See  Primary. 

SET.  To  set  a palette  is  to  arrange  the  tints  and  colors 
thereon  in  their  due  order  for  service. 

SETTING- UP, — said  of  colors,  is  an  unrefined  expres- 
sion which  denotes  the  quality  by  which  they  hold  their, 
place  on  the  palette,  whether  it  be  by  their  own  body,  or 
from  the  glutinous  nature  of  their  vehicle. 

SIMPLICITY — “ is  equally  removed  from  insipidity  or 
extravagance.  It  is  the  effect  of  a good  choice,  the  enemy 
of  affectation,  the  usual  companion  of  grace,  and  the 
general  attendant  on  nature,  especially  when  not  vitiated 
by  refinement.”  {Art.  Rep.) 

SFUMATO.  (Ital.)  Painted  with  a light,  vapory 
touch,  and  an  extreme  softness  and  fusion  of  color  and 
outline ; sfumare,  the  verb  from  which  this  adjective  comes, 
signifying,  in  its  original  sense,  to  emit  exhalation  or  vapor, 
as  of  smoke  (fumo), — to  evaporate.  The  French  too  have 
their  effumer  (esfumer),  which  has  all  the  force  of  the 
Italian ; but  their  artists  prefer  to  use  the  foreign  term. 

SGRAFFITO,  (otherwise  SGRAFFIO ; literally,  a 
scratching,  from  sgraffiare,  to  scratch.)  A kind  of  bold 
design,  in  black  and  white,  done  by  scratching  a wall 
where  it  was  purposely  painted  of  the  former  hue,  so  that  the 
white  of  the  plaster  came  forward  at  the  proper  intervals. 
It  was  formerly  used  in  Italy  for  ornamenting  the  exterior 
of  palaces,  and  other  buildings,  but  has  long  ceased  to  be 
Dractised.  Polydore  da  Carravagio  and  Maturino,” 


390 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


says  an  accomplished  French  artist-author,  “pupils  of 
Raphael,  executed  sgraffiti  of  which  some  remains  are 
still  seen  on  the  fac^ade  of  a house  opposite  the  Cesi 
Palace  at  Rome  : the  subject  is  the  fable  of  Niobe.  Dis- 
temper-paintings well  done  have  much  better  resisted  the 
weather,  perhaps  because  of  their  polish,  than  these 
sgraffiti,  whose  scratched  hatchings  were  produced  by 
means  of  a kind  of  fork.” 

SKETCH.  The  ordinary  uses  of  this  word  need  no 
explication.  (See  Sbozzo  and  Deadcoloring.)  As  com- 
bining however  the  idea  of  coloring  with  that  of  design, 
it  is  employed  in  a special  and  important  sense,  to  denote 
the  preparatory  painting  on  a smaller  scale  by  which  the 
artist  guides  himself  in  the  execution  of  a purposed 
work,  whose  effect  he  is  thus  enabled  to  calculate  with 
more  precision. 

STIPPLE.  Stippling  is  painting  with  the  point  of  the 
pencil,  with  a delicate  touch  and  very  short  and  detached 
strokes,  or  dots,  as  in  miniature.  It  is  what  the  staccato  is 
of  music ; and  in  fact,  its  points  very  much  resemble  the 
marks  used  by  composers  for  designating  that  manner  of 
performing  tones. 

STRAP AZZATO.  (Ital.)  Painted  in  a coarse,  care- 
less, headlong  manner,  as  if  the  whole  object  of  the  painter 
had  been  to  get  done.  The  French  words  strapassm  U, 
and  strapasse  are  used  in  the  same  manner. 

The  primitive  sense  of  the  verb  sirapazzare  is  to  tre^t 
with  rudeness,  disdain,  or  indifference. 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


391 


STUDIO.  An  affected  word  (in  English  mouths),  and 
quite  unnecessary,  since  we  have  study,  which  is  as  pro- 
perly applied  to  the  workroom  of  the  painter  and  the 
sculptor  as  to  that  of  the  poet. 

STUDY.  The  paintroom  of  the  artist,  as  above.  The 
familiar  word  with  the  French  is  workshop  {atelier),  which 
is  used  not  only  in  ordinary  conversation,  but  gravely  in 
their  most  polished  treatises. 

STUDY — is  also  adopted  with  us,  as  are  their  studio  and 
etude  by  the  Italians  and  French,  as  a name  for  several 
kinds  of  preparatory  essays,  such  as  are  designs  from 
nature  for  the  use  of  the  artist  himself,  and  which  he  as- 
sembles as  he  has  opportunity,  or  drawings,  usually  of 
parts  of  the  human  body  or  of  animals,  of  single  trees, 
and  other  isolated  objects,  but  sometimes  also  of  groups^ 
for  the  benefit  of  students,  and  which  frequently  result  in 
their  detriment ; or  lastly,  we  have  occasionally  exhibited, 
under  this  modest  name,  oilpaintings  of  heads  and  busts, 
more  or  less  finished,  or  even  in  no  respect  finished  at  all, 
strapazzate,  and  which  make  us  think  how  often  pride  is 
hidden  under  a lowly  mien. 

STUMP,  {estompe,  Fr.)  A roll  of  soft  leather,  paper 
card,  or  linen,  cut  tapering  at  the  end  like  a Pencil,  and 
used  with  powder  of  the  crayon,  or  on  the  marks  of  the 
c^avon  itself,  in  drawing. 

To  STUMP.  To  use  the  stump  (estomper). 

SUBJECTILE.  The  body,  no  matter  what  its  nature. 


392  EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 

on  which  is  executed  the  painting,  no  mailer  what  the  pro* 
cess. 

No  apology  can  be  requisite  for  innovating  this  most 
necessary  word,  for  which  I am  indebted  altogether  to  the 
treatise  of  M de  Montabert.  I would  gladly  improve  the 
nomenclature  of  the  art,  and  certainly  with  due  reserve 
may  be  permitted  to  enrich  it. 

“ Dixeris  egregie,  notum  si  callida  verbum 
Reddiderit  junctura  novum.  Si  forte  necesse  est 
Indiciis  monstrare  recentibus  abdita  rerum, 

Fingere  cinctutis  non  exaudita  Cethegis 
Continget ; dabiturque  licentia  sumta  pvdenter  ** 

And  I trust  I shall  not  be  considered  to  have  forgotten  this 
qualification  of  the  license. 

As  for  the  construction  of  the  word  itself,  it  is  quite  as 
regular  as  that  of  projectile  : they  are  of  one  family  ; and 
if  this  may  be  defined  a body  that  is  hurled  or  thrown 
forward,  Subjectile  is  analogically,  in  its  abstract  sense,  a 
body  that  is  subjected  to  or  put  under  another,  that  is  made 
to  receive  another  substance,  or  other  substances,  or  any- 
thing in  short  put  upon  it : subjectibilis  is  as  good  Latin  as 
projectibilis.  So  natural  does  the  term  in  question  appear, 
therefore  so  happily  is  it  innovated,  that  when  the  writer 
first  met  with  it  in  the  philosophic  pages  of  its  inventor, 
it  did  not  at  all  attract  his  attention  as  anything  strange, 
and  he  adopted  it  in  his  own  use  as  undesignedly  as  if  it 
liad  always  been  a household-word. 


SUGOSO.  (Ital.)  Full  of  sap  {sugo).  It  has  a wide 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


393 


range  of  metaphorical  application,  like  its  sister  adjectives 
in  other  languages.  Its  employment  by  the  painter  needs 
no  elucidation. 

SUPPORTING.  Supporting  a figure  is  said  of  the  in- 
terposition of  objects,  or  even  of  effects  of  clairobscure, 
between  parts  that  would  otherwise  appear  insulated,  or  be 
thrown  forward  in  too  separate  and  distinct  relief  from  the 
ground,  making  a gap  in  the  group  to  which  the  figure 
belongs,  and  rendering  the  effect  of  the  composition  meagre. 
This  fault  of  emptiness  is  obviated  by  a skilful  adjustment 
of  draperies,  by  a happy  arrangement  of  objects  in  per- 
spective or  otherwise,  which  fill  up  the  bare  spots,  but 
without  obtrusion,  so  that  they  are  felt  to  be  there  rather 
than  remarked,  or  finally,  and  simply,  by  a learned  man- 
agement of  light  and  shadow. 

SURFACE.  See  Impasto. 

SYMPATHY — expresses  the  mutual  relation  of  colors 
that  dixe  friendly.  See  Antipathy. 


T. 


TEAZED — or  Tormented^  is  said  of  colors  that  are 
worked  about  to  their  own  detriment  and  that  of  the  pic- 
ture. It  is  one  of  the  most  natural,  therefore  perfect 
metaphors,  in  the  language  of  art ; so  that  you  need  but 

have  in  mind  what  ieazing  is  morally,  to  know  what  it  is 
18* 


394 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


physically,  in  painting  as  elsewhere.  Having  remarked 
that  the  figure  is  natural,  it  is  not  necessary  to  add,  that  it 
is  common  to  all  languages. 

TEMPERA.  (Ital.)  See  Distemper. 

TERTIARY  (colors).  See  Primary. 

TINT.  See  Hue. 

TORMENTING  (of  colors).  See  Teazed. 

TONE.  The  student  must  not  confound  tone  and  tint, 
especially  when  the  latter  is  used  in  its  ordinary  indefinite 
sense  (see  Hue)  for  color.  Two  colors  may  be  the  same, 
yet  their  tones  different ; and  again  two  colors  may  be  di- 
rectly opposite,  yet  their  tones  the  same.  A distinction 
that  will  be  perfectly  obvious  to  the  student  if  he  recall  to 
mind  one  of  the  very  first  observations  he  must  have  made 
in  his  very  first  work,  viz.,  of  the  change  of  appearance 
which  took  place,  in  a color  already  laid,  on  his  placing 
another  next  it : the  color,  tint,  hue,  or  shade,  was  just  the 
same,  but  its  neighbor  had  either  brought  down  or  raised 
it?  tone.  Therefore, 

To  tone  a picture  is  to  harmonize  its  whole  coloring,  to 
bring  its  various  tones  as  well  as  various  colors  into  due 
relation  with  one  another  (which  implies  subordination, 
and  the  grand  result  of  subordination,  unity),  and  cause 
to  disappear  all  crudeness ; and  to  the  musical  I might 
add  (though  the  idea  is  implied  in  that  of  “ unity,”) — to 
maintain  the  tonic,  or  key-note,  throughout  the  whoU 
painted  rythm.  And  hence  is  said. 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


396 


To  intone)  or  entone,  a picture, — meaning  simply  to  give  it 
mellowness  where  there  was  hardness  and  frigidity,  anu 
to  bring  into  a perfected  harmony  what  was  crude  and  harsh. 
And  hence  again,  to  return  to  the  abstract  term,  or  sub- 
stantive. 

Tone  is  finally  used,  in  a large  and  somewhat  indefinite 
sense,  to  signify  the  quality  or  effect  of  a picture  thus 
intoned.  So  that,  to  want  tone  is  to  be  deficient  in  this  par- 
ticular, and  to  give  tone  is  to  remedy  that  deficience. 

It  may  not  be  impertinent  to  remark,  that  to  this  family 
of  words  might  be  added,  as  a legitimate  member  though  at 
present  alien  from  it,  the  musical  term  intonation)  and 
perhaps  the  verb,  to  intonate.  A composer,  in  Naples,  once 
observed  to  the  writer,  that  a distinguishing  excellence  of 
the  late  and  ever  to  be  regretted  Mme.  Malibran  was  her 
“ perfect  intonation,^  meaning  thereby  that  she  gave  to 
every  tone  its  proper  pitch.  It  might  be  said,  I think, 
with  equal  propriety,  of  a true  colorist,  that  his  intonation 
was  perfect,  or  fine,  or  excellent,  or  exquisite,  and  so  on, 
adding  whatever  epithet  might  be  suitable  for  the  occa^xon, 
or  again  of  a bad  or  inferior  colorist,  that  his  intonation  was 
imperfect,  indifferent,  faulty,  execrable;  or  again  (but 
this  I almost  fear  to  add),  that  he  knew  not  how  to  intonate, 
had  yet  to  learn  to  inton^e  correctly,  that  he  intonated 
badly,  falsely ; and  in  like  manner,  according  to  circum- 
stances. 

TOREUTIC.  That  branch  of  sculpture  in  which  the 
art  employs  not  one  material  but  several,  as  in  the  famous 


396 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY 


Olympian  Jupiter  of  Phidias,  of  which  the  chief  materials 
were  ivory  and  gold. 

Toreutic,  which  comes  to  us  directly  from  the  latinized 
Greek,  conveys  nothing  more  than  the  idea  of  chisel- work, 
and  is  so  far  synonymous  with  anaglyphic.  (See  Ana- 
glyph.) It  was  thus  Cicero  among  others  employed  its 
correlative,  toreuma.  It  is  only  after  the  time  of  Pliny 
that  the  epithet  seems  to  have  been  confined  to  what  has 
been  more  expressively  termed  by  some  modern  writers 
polychromic  sculpture.  (See  Monochromatic.) 

I have  used,  ?Lhoye,  toreutic  as  an  adjective  simply,  having 
a dislike  to  such  forms  as  substantives,  but  it  is  right  to  in- 
form the  student  that  it  is  also  employed  absolutely  with 
us,  as  with  the  French  (toreutique),  and  the  Italians  (toreu- 
iica),  after  the  Latin  toreutice. 

TOREUTICIAN.  {toreuticien,  Fr.)  A sculptor  in 
toreutic-work  (or,  in  toreutic). 

TORSO.  (Ital.  A figurative  use  of  the  word, — as  with 
our  corresponding  trunk  from  the  Fr.  tronc.)  A statue 
mutilated  in  its  members,  and  with  or  without  the  head  ; 
the  dismembered  trunk  of  a statue. — There  are  various 
torsos*  of  great  artistic  value,  that  have  come  down  to  us 

• The  student  must  not  pretend  to  say  torsi,  in  the  plural : it 
would  be  the  merest  affectation ; for  the  word  is  not  occasional, 
like  sbozzo  (see  p.  387),  nor  a compound  of  peculiar  character  like 
chiaroscuro  (p.  336),  but  simple,  and  of  daily  occurrence,  being 
as  perfectly  naturalized  as  fresco,  and  other  precise  Italian  terms 
for  which  the  language  has  no  single  definite  substitute 


OF  IMPORTANT  TERMS. 


397 


from  antiquity  ; but  by  the  Torso,  so  often  mentioned  as 
the  study  of  the  school  of  Michelangelo,  is  meant  the 
torso  of  the  Hercules,  called  of  the  Belvidere^  in  the 
Vatican. 

Why  should  we  not  in  English  say  torses  as  the  French 
do  in  their  tongue  ? The  word  is  of  the  proper  tone  as 
well  as  form,  and  its  inferior  volume  of  sound  makes  it  har- 
monize more  completely  with  our  language  than  torso^ 
though  the  latter,  it  is  true,  is  very  far  from  having  a 
discordant  grandeur.  It  would  add  to  the  resources  of  a 
writer  to  have  the  liberty  of  using  either  word,  as  suited 
his  occasions. 


V. 


VANISHING-POINTS  (term  of  Perspective).  See 
Horizontal  Line. 

VEHICLE.  Any  liquid,  by  combination  with  which 
the  colors  are  conveyed  to  the  subjectile,  to  be  there  fixed 
by  its  partial  evaporation,  or  desiccation,  is  called  its 
vehicle  ; a term  borrowed  from  the  apothecary,  who  applies 
it  to  any  liquid  with  which  liis  drugs  are  mingled,  or  ir 
which  they  are  simply  added,  to  form  a potion. 


W. 


WASHING.  See  Aquarel. 


298 


EXPLANATORY  AND  CRITICAL  DICTIONARY. 


z. 


ZOGRAPII ; ZOGIIAPIIER.  {zograplios,  Gk.)  Life, 
’painter^ — painter  of  animate  nature;  artist-painter  in 
general,  if  you  except  such  artists  as  confine  themselves 
strictly  to  landscapes,  flowers,  and  otlier  like  pieces,  which 
either  exclude  the  representation  of  life,  or  admit  it  only 
as  accessory. 

ZOGRAPITIC  ; ZOGRAPHICAL.  (zographicos,  Gk.) 
The  adjective  related  to  the  preceding  substantive.  The 
zographic  art : painting,  simply  ; its  subjects  being  for  the 
most  Dart  animate  nature,  and  preeminently  human  life. 

ZOGRAPIIY.  {zographia,  Gk.)  Life-painting ; or, 
painting,  simply. 

I know  not  that  any  of  these  three  words  has  yet  been 
introduced  into  our  own,  or  into  other  modern  languages ; 
but  they  are  properly  formed,  and  I venture  to  hope  that 
they  may  not  be  found  unworthy  a place  in  vocabularies, 
as  they  certainly  contribute  to  the  verbaj  resources  of 
polite  literature,  if  they  be  not  important,  for  occasional 
use,  to  the  literature  of  painters. 


i 


